Ávila Cathedral
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The Cathedral of the Saviour () is a Catholic church in
Ávila Ávila ( , , ) is a Spanish city located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Ávila. It lies on the right bank of the Adaja river. Located more than 1,130 m a ...
in the south of
Old Castile Old Castile ( ) is a historic region of Spain, which had different definitions across the centuries. Its extension was formally defined in the 1833 territorial division of Spain as the sum of the following provinces: Santander (now Cantabria ...
,
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
. It was built in the late Romanesque and Gothic architectural traditions. It was planned as a cathedral-fortress, its apse being one of the turrets of the city walls. It is surrounded by a number of houses or palaces, the most important being: the Palace of the Veladas, the Palace of the Infant King () , and the Palace of Valderrábanos, which were responsible for the defence of the ("The Gate of the Loyal Ones") also known as ("The Flour Weigh Gate").


History

It is not known exactly when the construction of the cathedral began. Two theories exist. One states that Alvar García started its construction in 1091 inside the remains of a previous Romanesque Church of the Saviour, which was left in ruins as a result of successive Muslim attacks, and that
Alfonso VII of Castile Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic Kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula. I ...
raised the money necessary to build it. Other historians believe the cathedral to be the work of the maestro Fruchel in the 12th century coinciding with the repopulation of Castille led by
Raymond of Burgundy Raymond of Burgundy (c. 1070 – 24 May 1107) was the ruler of Galicia as vassal of Alfonso VI of León and Castile, the Emperor of All Spain, from about 1090 until his death. He was the fourth son of Count William I of Burgundy and Stephanie ...
.


Characteristics

The Cathedral of Ávila is considered by its age (12th century), along with the Cathedral of Cuenca, as the first two Gothic cathedrals in Spain. It predates other important Spanish Gothic cathedrals, such as the
Cathedral of Burgos The Cathedral of Saint Mary of Burgos () is a Catholic church dedicated to the Virgin Mary located in the historical center of the Spain, Spanish city of Burgos. Its official name is the Holy Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica Church of St Mary of ...
(1222–1260) and the Cathedral of León (started about 1255).Lapunzina, Alejandro. Architecture of Spain. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2005. The cathedral shows French influences and great resemblances to the Abbey Church of St Denis, the first European Gothic church. The construction was started by Girald Fruchel in the 12th century. This construction was continued and modified until the 17th century, going from Gothic architecture to
Classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aesthe ...
(Saint Secundus chapel) and finally
Baroque architecture Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the late 16th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means to ...
(Velada Chapel). The first stages of the towers and the aisles date from the 13th century, alongside the second stage of the towers (one remaining unfinished), the cloister, the vaults and the flying buttresses date from the following century. Already in the fifteenth century all the works on the cathedral were complete and, in 1475,
Juan Guas Juan Guas (c. 1430-33 – c. 1496) was a Spanish artist and architect of Breton origin. He worked in a group of architects to create the Isabelline style. Born in Saint-Pol-de-Léon, he moved to Spain when he was young, and is often thought t ...
built the mechanical clock, in addition to moving the western portal to the north side. The belfry includes a residence for the
bell-ringer A bell-ringer is a person who rings a Bell (instrument), bell, usually a church bell, by means of a rope or other mechanism. Despite some automation of bells for random swinging, there are still many active bell-ringers in the world, particularl ...
's family. It was used until the 1950s. A pulley and rope eased the hoisting of provisions and the downloading of refuse.


Interior

The cathedral consists of a central nave and two aisles with a wide transept. They are of equal width but the central one is notably higher and it opens with large windows to the outside. They are separated by fine columns and pointed arches, which give this space a feeling of lightness and clarity. The vaults are mostly of simple quadripartite ribbing. The alabaster
baptismal font A baptismal font is an Church architecture, ecclesiastical architectural element, which serves as a receptacle for baptismal water used for baptism, as a part of Christian initiation for both rites of Infant baptism, infant and Believer's bapti ...
(1514–1516) is the work of Vasco de la Zarza. The thick wall of the
ambulatory The ambulatory ( 'walking place') is the covered passage around a cloister or the processional way around the east end of a cathedral or large church and behind the high altar. The first ambulatory was in France in the 11th century but by the 13t ...
of the
apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...
is embedded in the solid, fortified wall surrounding the city. A
retrochoir In church architecture, a retroquire (also spelled retrochoir), or back-choir, is the space behind the high altar in a church or cathedral, which sometimes separates it from the end chapel. It may contain seats for the church choir. An example o ...
divides the central nave from the
transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...
, the
choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...
and the apse. The
plateresque Plateresque, meaning "in the manner of a silversmith" (''plata'' being silver in Spanish language, Spanish), was an artistic movement, especially Architecture, architectural, developed in Spanish Empire, Spain and its territories, which appeared ...
retrochoir was intricately decorated with high-reliefs by Lucas Giraldo and . They show in great detail and with naturalism five scenes from the childhood of Jesus. In the
Epiphany Epiphany may refer to: Psychology * Epiphany (feeling), an experience of sudden and striking insight Religion * Epiphany (holiday), a Christian holiday celebrating the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ ** Epiphany seaso ...
, Balthasar is highlighted in black. The walnut choir stalls (with a
misericord A misericord (sometimes named mercy seat, like the biblical object) is a small wooden structure formed on the underside of a folding seat in a church which, when the seat is folded up, is intended to act as a shelf to support a person in a p ...
), behind the retrochoir, are aligned with the side of the church. They date from the first half of the 16th century. The work was carried out by the Flemish sculptor Cornielles de Holanda with the participation of Lucas Giraldo, Juan Rodríguez and Isidro Villoldo. The transept contains the alabaster altars of
Saint Secundus Secundus of Asti () (died c. 119) is venerated as a martyr and saint. His feast day is generally celebrated on 29 March. Until the 15th century it was celebrated at Asti on 30 March, but it is now celebrated there on the first Tuesday in May. ...
(
patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...
of Ávila) and Saint Catherine, both made by
Vasco de la Zarza Vasco de la Zarza (died 1524) was a Spanish Renaissance sculptor. He flourished between 1499 and 1524, and worked mainly for the Cathedral of Avila and convents of the same city, but also performed works in Ampudia, Cuéllar, Olmedo, Valladolid, O ...
in the first half of the 16th century. The altar of Saint Secundus was completed by Isidro Villoldo, while the altar of Saint Catherine was completed by Lucas Giraldo and Juan Rodríguez. The enormous
altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...
of the main altar was begun by
Pedro Berruguete Pedro Berruguete (c. 1450 – 1504) was a Spanish painter whose art is regarded as a transitional style between Gothic art, Gothic and Renaissance art. Berruguete most famously created paintings of the first few years of the Inquisition and of ...
in the transition from the 15th to the 16th century. He carried out eight
predella In art a predella (plural predelle) is the lowest part of an altarpiece, sometimes forming a platform or step, and the painting or sculpture along it, at the bottom of an altarpiece, sometimes with a single much larger main scene above, but oft ...
s portraying in detail and naturalism images of
Evangelists Evangelist(s) may refer to: Religion * Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels * Evangelism, publicly preaching the Gospel with the intention of spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ * Evangelist (Anglican Church), a ...
and
Doctors of the Church Doctor of the Church (Latin: ''doctor'' "teacher"), also referred to as Doctor of the Universal Church (Latin: ''Doctor Ecclesiae Universalis''), is a title given by the Catholic Church to saints recognized as having made a significant contribut ...
, as well as two boards portraying the "Prayer in the Garden" and the "Flagellation". These paintings, perhaps reflecting the prevailing style in Castile at the time, use gold backgrounds and somewhat rigid compositions. After his death, his assistant, Bartolomé de Santa Cruz, continued the work with "the Crucifixion", "the Resurrection" and the "Epiphany". The rest of the scenes were carried out by
Juan de Borgoña Juan de Borgoña (c. 1470–1536), was a Spanish Renaissance, High Renaissance painter who was born in the Duchy of Burgundy, probably just before it ceased to exist as an independent state, and was active in Spain from about 1495 to 1536. His ...
. The ambulatory is surrounded with a triforium. It contains nine side chapels and five large, richly decorated panels with reliefs (attributed to Lucas Giraldo and Vasco de la Zarza). The middle panel is an alabaster piece, with a wealth of detail and structured like a retable, by Vasco de la Zarza and accommodates the tomb of Alonso de Madrigal, also named "El Tostado", a bishop of Ávila. The cathedral museum, located in the sacristies, houses a large number of works of art, among which the portrait of the knight Don Garci Báñez de Muxica by
El Greco Doménikos Theotokópoulos (, ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco (; "The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance, regarded as one of the greatest artists of all time. ...
and the
chalice A chalice (from Latin 'cup', taken from the Ancient Greek () 'cup') is a drinking cup raised on a stem with a foot or base. Although it is a technical archaeological term, in modern parlance the word is now used almost exclusively for the ...
and
paten A paten or diskos is a small plate used for the celebration of the Eucharist (as in a mass). It is generally used during the liturgy itself, while the reserved sacrament are stored in the tabernacle in a ciborium. Western usage In many Wes ...
of Saint Secundus. However, its most notable work is the enormous processional
monstrance A monstrance, also known as an ostensorium (or an ostensory), is a vessel used in Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, High Church Lutheran and Anglican churches for the display on an altar of some object of piety, such as the consecrated Eucharisti ...
(1571), a shrine in six bodies by the goldsmith
Juan de Arphe y Villafañe ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Philippi ...
. Its main theme is the "Sacrifice of Isaac". In 2014 Spanish former
prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Adolfo Suárez Adolfo Suárez González, 1st Duke of Suárez (; 25 September 1932 – 23 March 2014) was a Spanish lawyer and politician. Suárez was Spain's first democratically elected Prime Minister of Spain, prime minister since the Second Spanish Republi ...
and his wife were buried inside.


References

* Ávila, Art and Monuments; edicion Edilera;


External links


Official website (English)

Video of the cathedral of Ávila

Mª Ángeles Benito Pradillo, First Building Stages of the Cathedral of Avila. Romanesque and Protogothic Stages; Proceedings of the Third International Congress on Construction History, Cottbus, May 2009

Official audio guide in English
{{DEFAULTSORT:Avila Cathedral Roman Catholic cathedrals in Castile and León 12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Spain Fortified church buildings in Spain Roman Catholic churches in Ávila, Spain Gothic architecture in Castile and León