Cathedral of Zamora
| Zamora Cathedral Catedral de Zamora |
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2.JPG)
Main façade
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| Location | Zamora, Spain |
| Country | Spain |
| Denomination | Roman Catholicism |
| Architecture | |
| Style | Romanesque |
| Groundbreaking | 1140 |
| Completed | 1174 |
The Cathedral of Zamora is a church in Zamora, in Castile and León, Spain, located above the right bank of the Duero in the southern and rather higher part of the old town, and is still surrounded by its old walls and gates.
Built between 1151 and 1174, it is one of the finest examples of Spanish Romanesque architecture.
A previous church, also entitled to El Salvador ("Holy Savior") existed at the time of King Alfonso VII of Castile, but it was apparently in ruins, so that the king donated the church of St. Thomas in the city to act as cathedral.
The church was built under bishop Esteban, under the patronage of Alfonso VII and his sister, Sancha Raimúndez. The date of construction (1151-1174) is traditionally attested by an epigraphy in the northern side of the transept, although recent discoveries have proven that the church had been already begun in 1139, at the time of bishop Bernardo.
The cathedral was consecrated in 1174 by bishop Esteban, although works continued under his successor Guillermo (1176-1192), including the transept. The cloister and the bell tower date to the first half of the 13th century. The designer of the church is unknown.
The building, in Romanesque style, is on the Latin cross plan; it has a nave and two aisles, a short transept and three semicircular apses. The latter were replaced by Gothic ones in the 15th century. The transept is covered by barrel vault, the aisles by groin vault and the nave by cross vault in late-Romanesque or Proto-Gothic style.
Over the transept is the dome-tower, featuring 16 side narrow and tall semicircular windows enclosed in and between four turrets. These support two domes, an external one with a slightly pointed top, and an interior one with semicircular shape. Over the turrest are small domes, also with columns and thin windows, and typani with similar decoration. With its exterior, original scale decoration, the dome it is one of the symbols of the city.
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