St. Mary of Bendones () is an Asturian

Pre-Romanesque The Pre-Romanesque period in European art spans from the emergence of the Merovingian kingdom around 500 AD, or from the Carolingian Renaissance in the late 8th century, to the beginning of the Romanesque period in the 11th century. While t ...

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church situated in Bendones,

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 ...

, build between 792 and 842. It was designated a Spanish

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a sp ...

in 1958. It has an arcade with side chapels as well as a three-part head with a large transept.

Architecture

The structure is similar to the church of

San Julián de los Prados San Julián de los Prados, also known as Santullano, is a Pre-Ramirense church from the beginning of the 9th century in Oviedo, the capital city of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is one of the greatest works of Asturian art and was decl ...

, although the ground plan is not the typical basilica of the

churches, but has three enclosures at the western end, the central one as an entrance vestibule and two side areas possibly to house parishioners or ecclesiastics. This entrance leads into a single nave with a wooden ceiling, the same length as the entrance enclosures. The nave adjoins two rectangular side areas, also with a wooden ceiling, whose use seems to associated with the liturgical rites of the period. this nave joined with the sanctuary by three semicircular brick arches, each of which leads into its corresponding chapel, of which only the main or central one is covered with a brick barrel vault, the other two with wooden ceilings. Above the main chapel is the "typical" chamber, only accessible from outside, through a trefoil window with the standard Pre-Romanesque features; central arch larger than the side ones, resting on two free-standing capitals with rope moulding, and the upper rectangle framed by simple moulding. Independent from the church structure, though close to its southern facade, stands the bell tower, on a rectangular ground plan.

References

Sources

Luis Menéndez Pidal y Alvarez Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...

, ''Santa María de Bendones, Oviedo: Reconstrucción'', Instituto de Estudios Asturianos, 1974 * * * * ''Prerrománico Asturiano. El arte de la monarquía Asturiana''. Gijón, 1999. Editorial Trea * ''A la búsqueda del prerrománico olvidado'' (2 Tomos). Gijón, 1999. Author: Francisco Monge Calleja * ''Guía del prerómanico: Visigodo, Asturiano, Mozárabe''. Madrid, 2005. Editorial: Anaya

External links

Iglesia de Santa María de Bendones
3D model in

Google SketchUp SketchUp is a proprietary 3D modeling software that is used to create and manipulate 3D models. It is used in architecture and interior design. SketchUp is owned by Trimble Inc. The software has a free web-based version, and three paid subscr ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Church of Santa Maria de Bendones 9th-century churches in Spain Maria de Bendones Pre-Romanesque architecture in Asturias 9th-century establishments in Spain Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in Asturias 842 establishments Religious buildings and structures completed in the 840s

Architecture

See also

References

Sources

External links