The Church of Saint Mary the Ancient () is a 12th-century church in

Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...

, central

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 declared ''

Bien de Interés Cultural (, , , ) is a category of the heritage register in Spain. The term is also used in Colombia and other Spanish-speaking countries. The term literally means a "good of cultural interest" ("goods" in the economic sense). It includes not only mater ...

'' in 1897.

History

Underneath the current building, remains of foundations have been found of a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

hypocaustum A hypocaust () is a system of central heating in a building that produces and circulates hot air below the floor of a room, and may also warm the walls with a series of pipes through which the hot air passes. This air can warm the upper floors a ...

. The church was likely founded in 1095 by Count Pedro Ansúrez, although there are no remains of this original structure. The oldest parts of the current temple dates back to the late 12th century: the gallery on the northern side of the building and the tower, both were built in

Romanesque style Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe that was predominant in the 11th and 12th centuries. The style eventually developed into the Gothic style with the shape of the arches providing a simple distinction: the Ro ...

. The tower, one of the symbols of Valladolid, has four floors, the upper three featuring windows, and a pyramidal top. The naves and sanctuary of the church were rebuilt in the 14th century in

Gothic style Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved from Romanesque ar ...

, following the style of Burgos Cathedral. The church has three aisles, with three polygonal apses and a transept. The nave and the aisles are rib-vaulted. Due to poor design and construction and the increasing size of the parish population, the building underwent successive additions and reparations: in the mid-16th century, architect

Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón (1500–1577) was a Spanish architect of the Renaissance. He was born at Rascafría. His work alternated the late gothic with the renaissance style. His workings include the Palace of Monterrey in Salamanca, the Pala ...

restored the collapsing building, adding

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ...

es and several windows. Also from this period date the high altar

retablo A retablo is a devotional painting, especially a small popular or folk art one using iconography derived from traditional Catholic church art. More generally ''retablo'' is also the Spanish term for a retable or reredos above an altar, whether ...

, by

Juan de Juni Juan de Juni (Fr. Jean de Joigny; c. 1507–1577) was a French–Spanish sculptor, who also worked as a painter and architect. Career Juan de Juni was born in Joigny, France, but began working in Italy, where he was first employed. In 1533 ...

(1550-1562; now in the

Valladolid Cathedral The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Holy Assumption (), better known as Valladolid Cathedral, is a Catholic church in Valladolid, Spain. The main layout was designed by Juan de Herrera in a Renaissance-style. The original design for this cathedral ...

). Several Baroque altarpieces were executed for the church's interior during the 17th and 18th centuries, hiding the original Gothic appearance. In the early 20th century the building was extensively restored and rebuilt to show its original Romanesque-Gothic appearance, following the doctrines of the French architect

Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc Eugene is a common male given name that comes from the Greek εὐγενής (''eugenēs''), "noble", literally "well-born", from εὖ (''eu''), "well" and γένος (''genos''), "race, stock, kin".Edward Hawke Locker Edward Hawke Locker (9 October 1777, in East Malling, Kent – 16 October 1849, in Iver, Buckinghamshire) was an English watercolourist (producing works now in the V&A and British Museum) and administrator of the Royal Naval Hospital, Greenwi ...

Image:Antigua restauración.jpg, early 20th century Image:Fundación Joaquín Díaz - Iglesia de Santa María de la Antigua - Valladolid (6).jpg, at 1950s Image:Fundación Joaquín Díaz - Iglesia de Santa María de la Antigua - Valladolid (11).jpg, at 1980s Image:Iglesia de Santa María La Antigua..jpg, at night Image:La Antigua Valladolid.jpg, view Image:IglesiaDeSantaMaríaLaAntigua20110905164612P1120844.jpg, Portugalete Square Image:Night-mist-view-la-antigua-church-valladolid-es.jpg, Front view of La Antigua Church in a misty winter night Image:Nuestra Señora de la Antigua. Valladolid.jpg, Side view of 2014

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Maria La Antigua Roman Catholic churches in Valladolid Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Province of Valladolid Gothic architecture in Castile and León Romanesque architecture in Castile and León

History

See also

References