The church, one of the oldest churches in Spain, is of architectural interest and is being considered for World Heritage Site status along with nine other Mozarabic sites. It is currently on a "tentative list" (part of the nominating process).[1]
The traditional interpretation is that the church foundation goes back to the reign of Egica in the seventh century, having been built between 680 and before the Muslim conquest of Hispania in 711; San Pedro de la Nave would thus be one of the last works of Visigothic architecture.
View from the southeast
The church's first design corresponded to a Roman cross in plan, although later two lateral naves were added, which gave it a hybrid shape between basilical and cruciform. It also has five rooms, two on each side of the Presbytery, that must have served as hermits' cells. In sum a rectangular plan of approximately 5.6 by 2.1 meters is established, from which eight chapels project: the rectangular central apsidal chapel and two others at the ends of the transept. The central nave, as is usually the case, is taller and wider than the aisles and is separated from them by arches supported by strong pillars.
Descriptionedit
The roof of the church is supported by a barrel vault, but while the vault of the nave and the aisles retains its original stone structure, the western sections of the building are vaulted in brick from the earlier springing points of the ashlar masonry. The arches used are of the horseshoe type (greater than half a circle) of Visigothic architecture. The two arches perpendicular to the axis of the nave spring from impost blocks supported on columns attached to the piers. The arch opening onto the apse is a tighter horseshoe shape resting on two columns in the jambs of the opening.
The decoration of the church is among the most outstanding of pre-Romanesque architecture. There are two types of elements, deriving from different artistic conceptions and different craftsmen: first, a wide frieze corresponding to a course of the ashlar masonry, which shows a successions of circles with various vegetal and animal motives; second, the capitals of the engaged columns. These are of an excellent workmanship superior to that of the frieze. They show biblical scenes such as Daniel in the Lion's Den or The Sacrifice of Abraham. Their abacus blocks are decorated with volutes containing human and animal figures.
There is also a sun-dial inscribed on a stone in the interior wall of the church. The clock was never finished.
Originally the church was sited on the banks of the river Esla, but, when the Ricobayo dam was built, creating a reservoir, the building was moved to avoid submersion in the higher waters of the Esla. Thanks to the efforts of Manuel Gómez-Moreno, it was decided that the church would be moved stone by stone to its current location. This operation was carried out in 1930-32, under the direction of the architect Alejandro Ferrant Vázquez.
^"Group of Mozarabic buildings on the Iberian Peninsula". Retrieved 2019-06-15.
External linksedit
Official Blog of the Parish of San Pedro de la Nave
(in Spanish)
The Romanesque in Zamora (in Spanish)
The Art of medieval Spain, A.D. 500-1200, an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on San Pedro de la Nave (p. 15-16)
pedro, nave, peter, nave, early, medieval, church, province, zamora, spain, locality, campillo, municipal, unit, almendra, moved, from, original, site, near, river, esla, when, land, flooded, construction, ricobayo, reservoir, view, from, southwest, church, ol. San Pedro de la Nave St Peter of the Nave is an Early Medieval church in the province of Zamora Spain It is in the locality of El Campillo in the municipal unit of San Pedro de la Nave Almendra It was moved from its original site near the River Esla when the land was to be flooded by the construction of the Ricobayo reservoir View from the southwest The church one of the oldest churches in Spain is of architectural interest and is being considered for World Heritage Site status along with nine other Mozarabic sites It is currently on a tentative list part of the nominating process 1 Contents 1 History 2 Description 3 Conservation 4 See also 5 Notes 6 External linksHistory editThe traditional interpretation is that the church foundation goes back to the reign of Egica in the seventh century having been built between 680 and before the Muslim conquest of Hispania in 711 San Pedro de la Nave would thus be one of the last works of Visigothic architecture nbsp View from the southeast The church s first design corresponded to a Roman cross in plan although later two lateral naves were added which gave it a hybrid shape between basilical and cruciform It also has five rooms two on each side of the Presbytery that must have served as hermits cells In sum a rectangular plan of approximately 5 6 by 2 1 meters is established from which eight chapels project the rectangular central apsidal chapel and two others at the ends of the transept The central nave as is usually the case is taller and wider than the aisles and is separated from them by arches supported by strong pillars Description editThe roof of the church is supported by a barrel vault but while the vault of the nave and the aisles retains its original stone structure the western sections of the building are vaulted in brick from the earlier springing points of the ashlar masonry The arches used are of the horseshoe type greater than half a circle of Visigothic architecture The two arches perpendicular to the axis of the nave spring from impost blocks supported on columns attached to the piers The arch opening onto the apse is a tighter horseshoe shape resting on two columns in the jambs of the opening nbsp Detail of a capital in which is represented The Sacrifice of Abraham The decoration of the church is among the most outstanding of pre Romanesque architecture There are two types of elements deriving from different artistic conceptions and different craftsmen first a wide frieze corresponding to a course of the ashlar masonry which shows a successions of circles with various vegetal and animal motives second the capitals of the engaged columns These are of an excellent workmanship superior to that of the frieze They show biblical scenes such as Daniel in the Lion s Den or The Sacrifice of Abraham Their abacus blocks are decorated with volutes containing human and animal figures There is also a sun dial inscribed on a stone in the interior wall of the church The clock was never finished Conservation editIt was declared a national monument on April 22 1912 Originally the church was sited on the banks of the river Esla but when the Ricobayo dam was built creating a reservoir the building was moved to avoid submersion in the higher waters of the Esla Thanks to the efforts of Manuel Gomez Moreno it was decided that the church would be moved stone by stone to its current location This operation was carried out in 1930 32 under the direction of the architect Alejandro Ferrant Vazquez See also editList of oldest church buildingsNotes edit Group of Mozarabic buildings on the Iberian Peninsula Retrieved 2019 06 15 External links editOfficial Blog of the Parish of San Pedro de la Nave El Portal del Arte Romanico Visigothic Mozarabe and Romanesque Art in Spain San Pedro de la Nave webpage in Spanish The Romanesque in Zamora in Spanish The Art of medieval Spain A D 500 1200 an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries fully available online as PDF which contains material on San Pedro de la Nave p 15 16 41 35 00 N 5 57 51 W 41 5833 N 5 96425 W 41 5833 5 96425 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title San Pedro de la Nave amp oldid 1221769983, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
