The Santa Maria Basilica (the Basílica de Santa Maria de Castelló d'Empúries, or the Catedral de l'Empordà or the Catedral de Castelló d'Empúries ), located in the municipality of
Castelló d'Empúries
Castelló d'Empúries () is a town and municipality in the Alt Empordà in Province of Girona, Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It lies 9 km east of Figueres.
History
In 1079, Castelló d'Empúries became the capital of the County of Empúries, Emp ...
in
Girona
Girona (; ) is the capital city of the Province of Girona in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 106,476 in 2024, but the p ...
,
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...
,
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 ...
, has for centuries been regarded as the Empordà Cathedral, although papal authorities have never granted it this rank. The building is the second largest in the
Costa Brava
The Costa Brava (; ; "Wild Coast" or "Rough Coast") is a coastal region of Catalonia in northeastern Spain. Sources differ on the exact definition of the Costa Brava. Usually it can be regarded as stretching from the town of Blanes, northeas ...
, after the
Girona Cathedral
The Cathedral of Saint Mary, (Catalan language, Catalan: ''Catedral de Santa Maria''), is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic cathedral located in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Girona.
The cathedral's in ...
,Josep Pla, ''El meu país''. O. C. VII, 96. and is big enough to justify cathedral status. It is a
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language
** Gothic ( ...
building begun in the thirteenth century that replaced a primitive Romanesque church from the tenth century. A few vestiges of this building remain, such as the first floors of the bell tower and the grant baptismal. It was completed in the fifteenth century, when the marble facade and the alabaster altarpiece of the main altar were finished. It contains a museum known as ''El Tresor'', which contains a large collection of religious jewelry.
The church is dedicated to the Virgin of Candelera.
History
After the destruction of
Empúries
Empúries ( ) was an ancient Greek city on the Mediterranean coast of Catalonia, Spain. The city Ἐμπόριον (, Emporion, meaning "trading place", ''cf.'' emporion) was founded in 575 BC by Greeks from Phocaea. After the invasion o ...
, Castelló became the county seat, with the transfer of the Counts of Empúries to the villa. Thus, the site became a strategically defensive zone surrounded by walls. The counts wanted the village to be the base of the episcopal seat of the Empordà, which would explain its monumentality.
A document from 1007 first made mention of a Romanesque church dedicated to Santa Maria established in the hamlet of Castelló d'Empúries. This was a purchase made by the
Bishop of Girona
The Diocese of Girona () is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church located in the city of Girona in the ecclesiastical province of Tarragona in Catalonia, Spain.Catalan Gothic style structure, which was built in the same location as the first Romanesque church, was directed by the architect Ramón de Xartres, and construction began on 13 February 1261, during the time of Count
Ponç IV of Empúries
Ponç or Ponc may refer to:
*Ponç de la Guàrdia (1154–1188), Catalan knight of the family of Saguàrdia, lords of the castle of Ripoll
* Ponç d'Ortafà (c. 1170–1246), Catalan nobleman and troubadour
* Ponç Guerau (floruit 1105–1162), Ca ...
. Its architectural structure was finished early in the fifteenth century, when the facade was built, with the grand marble portal. The side altars were built, and the alabaster altarpiece of the main altar was designed. It has the structure and dimensions of a cathedral, a status which it never attained despite several efforts spearheaded by the counts of Empúries.
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, two side chapels, the ''Puríssima Sang'' (Immaculate Heart) and ''Nostra Senyora dels Dolors'' (Our Lady of Sorrows), were added.
Structure
Built with a
hall church
A hall church is a Church (building), church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height. In England, Flanders and the Netherlands, it is covered by parallel roofs, typically, one for each vessel, whereas in Germany there is often one s ...
design, a method introduced to Spain by
Cistercian monks
The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...
, it is composed of three buildings, a wider central and two lateral ones. The laterals are unusual in that their height is different from the central plant in some sections.
The structure of the hall church is rectangular with framed side chapels between the buttresses, surmounted by drainage gargoyles, which support the side walls. In the header and in the first two sections, including the lower side aisles, the abutments are complemented by buttresses. Each of the three naves of the plant is made up of nine ogive vaults supported by pillars, with elements typical of this type of construction: rainbow arches and the four
ribs
The rib cage or thoracic cage is an endoskeletal enclosure in the thorax of most vertebrates that comprises the ribs, vertebral column and sternum, which protect the vital organs of the thoracic cavity, such as the heart, lungs and great vessels ...
that are joined at a keystone.
The large windows in the apse of the church were of
stained glass
Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...
. Today, only one remains; the others were covered with sheets of translucent alabaster.
The high altar is a made of consecrated stone more than three meters long, supported by five columns, and it is used for services to celebrate mass. It had been placed in the chancel, on the other side of the iron gate, but in 1973 it was moved to its present location, closer to the faithfuls.
The front cover features a large main stone from the fifteenth century, attributed to master builder Antoni Antigó, and is divided into three sections: two
bell towers
A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tow ...
and a central body. This central part has the
portal
Portal may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Gaming
* ''Portal'' (series), a series of video games developed by Valve
** ''Portal'' (video game), a 2007 video game, the first in the series
** '' Portal 2'', the 2011 sequel
** '' Portal Stori ...
, framed between two pinnacles. Its beauty consists of six
archivolts
An archivolt (or voussure) is an ornamental moulding or band following the curve on the underside of an arch.
It is composed of bands of ornamental mouldings (or other architectural elements) surrounding an arched opening, corresponding to the ...
which delimit the tympanum and the pediment. The ''Adoration of the Magi'' is represented in the tympanum. The six archivolts are topped by twelve niches that house the twelve apostles. All sculptures are carved with great perfection and attention to detail. Under the niches, there is a socket with blind windows resting on a bench. On top of the cover and occupying the top of the central body, there is a large Gothic rosette, which supplies light to the interior of the temple. The bell tower (from the twelfth or thirteenth) stands on the north side. It is a tower divided into five floors with a height of 36 meters that follows the architectural design of the Lombard influenced bell towers.