The Church of Sant Vicenç of Cardona (Catalan: Església de Sant Vicenç de Cardona) is a LombardRomanesque church in Cardona, Catalonia, Spain. It was built between the years 1019 and 1040,[1] and is located in the center of the Castle of Cardona.
The church has its origins in the chapel of the Castle of Cardona, which was property of House of the Viscounts of Osona. (The family later took their name from this castle.) This first church was documented in 980, and was protected under the patronage of the viscounts.
During the 11th century, a number of stone churches—several as a part of Benedictine monastic complexes—began to be built in the area, though the earliest of these churches still had wooden trusses supporting the roofs. The church of St. Vincent was begun about 1019 and consecrated in 1040, under the patronage of viscount Bermon I.
Architectureedit
Interior of the church.
The church was built as a showpiece, and is impressive for its scale—with a height of more than 19 m (62 ft). Its building material is cut stone, and the stonework is both austere and sophisticated, given the uniform size of the cut blocks and the quality of the masonry.
Interioredit
In the interior, a barrel vault of stone covers the nave, which is flanked by two side-aisles. Along the nave, three transverse arches, which are evenly spaced, add support. Their arches continue down the piers as pilasters, complete with capitals at the springing of the arch. Rounded arches, supported by piers, open into the side aisles, which are covered with stone groin vaults. Above the nave arcade, small rounded lancet-shaped windows pierce the stone walls. The windows are evenly spaced over the arch openings.
A dome resting on squinches is over the crossing in front of the altar. The dome has an oculus opening at the top and small rounded lancet windows in the drum. This is the first known example of a basilica-plan church built with a dome in Western Europe, which represents the synthesis of sacred-building and meeting-hall typologies in the Roman tradition.[1]
Apses, transept, and lantern tower, with typical Lombard details
At the crossing, the nave meets the transept, which is actually slightly wider than the nave. The transept, however, is short, barely emerging from the sides of the church, but still giving the structure a typical cruciform plan. Beyond it, the aisles of the church terminate in three apses, each sized according to the size of the aisle.
Exterioredit
From afar, the church's exterior is notable for the prevailing regularity of straight lines, excepting the three semicircular apses. Above the whole rises an octagonal lantern tower, which corresponds to the interior dome.
Paintingsedit
The portico of the church was once covered with murals. Fragments from the three central vaults (of five) were restored in 1960 and are now displayed at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC) in Barcelona. Though the portico was built with the church in the 11th century, the frescoes themselves date to the 12th century.[2]
^ abCirici, Alexandre (1975). L'Arquitectura Catalana (in Catalan). Barcelona: Editorial Teide. pp. 131–133. ISBN84-307-8305-9. "La primera basílica amb cúpola que es coneix en tots els dominis de l'Església Romana és la de Sant Vicenç de Cardona, edificada del 1019 al 1040
^"Maiestas Domini and Tetramorph from Cardona". Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
church, sant, vicenç, cardona, catalan, església, sant, vicenç, cardona, lombard, romanesque, church, cardona, catalonia, spain, built, between, years, 1019, 1040, located, center, castle, cardona, view, church, apse, from, afar, contents, history, architectur. The Church of Sant Vicenc of Cardona Catalan Esglesia de Sant Vicenc de Cardona is a Lombard Romanesque church in Cardona Catalonia Spain It was built between the years 1019 and 1040 1 and is located in the center of the Castle of Cardona View of the church s apse from afar Contents 1 History 2 Architecture 2 1 Interior 2 2 Exterior 3 Paintings 4 Gallery 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksHistory editThe church has its origins in the chapel of the Castle of Cardona which was property of House of the Viscounts of Osona The family later took their name from this castle This first church was documented in 980 and was protected under the patronage of the viscounts During the 11th century a number of stone churches several as a part of Benedictine monastic complexes began to be built in the area though the earliest of these churches still had wooden trusses supporting the roofs The church of St Vincent was begun about 1019 and consecrated in 1040 under the patronage of viscount Bermon I Architecture edit nbsp Interior of the church The church was built as a showpiece and is impressive for its scale with a height of more than 19 m 62 ft Its building material is cut stone and the stonework is both austere and sophisticated given the uniform size of the cut blocks and the quality of the masonry Interior edit In the interior a barrel vault of stone covers the nave which is flanked by two side aisles Along the nave three transverse arches which are evenly spaced add support Their arches continue down the piers as pilasters complete with capitals at the springing of the arch Rounded arches supported by piers open into the side aisles which are covered with stone groin vaults Above the nave arcade small rounded lancet shaped windows pierce the stone walls The windows are evenly spaced over the arch openings A dome resting on squinches is over the crossing in front of the altar The dome has an oculus opening at the top and small rounded lancet windows in the drum This is the first known example of a basilica plan church built with a dome in Western Europe which represents the synthesis of sacred building and meeting hall typologies in the Roman tradition 1 nbsp Apses transept and lantern tower with typical Lombard details At the crossing the nave meets the transept which is actually slightly wider than the nave The transept however is short barely emerging from the sides of the church but still giving the structure a typical cruciform plan Beyond it the aisles of the church terminate in three apses each sized according to the size of the aisle Exterior edit From afar the church s exterior is notable for the prevailing regularity of straight lines excepting the three semicircular apses Above the whole rises an octagonal lantern tower which corresponds to the interior dome Paintings editThe portico of the church was once covered with murals Fragments from the three central vaults of five were restored in 1960 and are now displayed at the Museu Nacional d Art de Catalunya MNAC in Barcelona Though the portico was built with the church in the 11th century the frescoes themselves date to the 12th century 2 Gallery edit nbsp Atrium vault frescoes at MNAC nbsp Atrium nbsp The Defense of Girona nbsp The atrium today nbsp Remains of the cloister nbsp Church crypt nbsp Tomb of the Dukes of Cardona nbsp Tomb nbsp Apse Note the extensive use of Lombard bands nbsp Castle of CardonaSee also editHistory of medieval Arabic and Western European domesReferences edit a b Cirici Alexandre 1975 L Arquitectura Catalana in Catalan Barcelona Editorial Teide pp 131 133 ISBN 84 307 8305 9 La primera basilica amb cupola que es coneix en tots els dominis de l Esglesia Romana es la de Sant Vicenc de Cardona edificada del 1019 al 1040 Maiestas Domini and Tetramorph from Cardona Museu Nacional d Art de Catalunya Retrieved 4 May 2016 Stokstad Marilyn 2004 Medieval Art 2nd ed Boulder Westview Press ISBN 0 8133 3681 3 Luttikhuizen Verkerk eds 2006 Snyder s Medieval Art 2nd ed Englewood Cliffs Prentice Hall ISBN 978 0 13 192970 8 External links edit nbsp Media related to Sant Vicenc de Cardona at Wikimedia Commons 41 54 52 N 1 41 10 E 41 91444 N 1 68611 E 41 91444 1 68611 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Church of Sant Vicenc amp oldid 1193926326, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
