Page 24 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2017 - Northern Spain

22  intr oducing nor thern sp ain

Architecture of Northern Spain

northern spain is remarkable for its exceptional
architectural heritage. preserved here are the founda tions
of celtic homesteads and the ruins of roman buildings,
testifying to the region’s ancient history. it is also here,
especially along the pilgrimage route to santiago de
compostela and in the catalan pyrenees, that beautiful
romanesque churches and lofty gothic cathedrals are to be
found. one of the area’s most distinctive and visible features
is the traditional archi tecture, unique to each region of
northern spain, which reflects the terrain and traditional Renaissance detail of the Hostal de San
forms of livelihood – fishing, farming and agriculture. Marcos in León (see p119)

Pre-Romanesque &
Romanesque (8th–13th Centuries)
Most notable among the pre-Romanesque
buildings are the Asturian shrines. Roman-
esque churches built in the 10th–12th
centuries in Catalonia, as well as along the
pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela,
feature massive walls, tall rounded arches,
and few windows.
Rounded Apses at the end Santa Maria del Naranco (see pp96–7) is a
arch of the aisles pre-Romanesque church with slender pro-
portions. Barrel vaults and columns around
arcaded galleries are typical of the style.

Four-arched
window
Romanesque San Climent in Taüll (see p194)
The Palacio de los Reyes de Navarra in Stone corbels
Estella (see p161), built at the end of the
12th century, is one of very few examples
of secular Romanesque architecture.
Gothic (12th–16th Centuries)
In most of Northern Spain, especially
along the road to Santiago, where
the French influence was strongest,
the Gothic followed the
French version of the
An ogival Gothic style. It was based
window on verticality and the
introduction of twin-towered façades
and ribbed vaulting. Catalan Gothic
had a heavier style of its own.

The nave of León
Cathedral (see pp120–21),
whose construction began
The Gothic retable in Ourense in 1254, is covered in
cathedral (see p75) was carved by ribbed vaulting and lit by
Cornelis de Holanda at the beginning colourful stained-glass
of the 16th century. A scene of the windows covering a
Deposition appears in one of its staggering 1,800 sq m
richly decorated sections. (19,375 sq ft).

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