Santa Cecilia (Vallespinoso de Aguilar)
The church of Santa Cecilia in Vallespinoso de Aguilar , a place in the municipality of Aguilar de Campoo in the province of Palencia in the Spanish autonomous region of Castile and León , was built on a rocky hill at the end of the 12th or beginning of the 13th century. In 1951 the Romanesque church was declared a monument ( Bien de Interés Cultural ).
history
The church consecrated to St. Cecilia was first mentioned in 1345 in a register of the diocese of Palencia . After the construction of the parish church of Vallespinoso de Aguilar, Santa Cecilia initially served as a hermitage and gradually fell into disrepair. In 1958, the church, which is no longer used for worship, was restored. The roofs, the north wall and the west facade were rebuilt, with the majority of the old stones being reused. The round tower on the south side was covered with a dome.
architecture
Exterior construction
The church is made of regularly hewn sandstone . An open bell tower ( espadaña ) rises between the nave and the choir . A round tower is attached to the south facade next to the portal, which rests on a square, 4.50 meter high substructure. The function of this tower is not clear, maybe it was used for defense. Inside there is a spiral staircase that can only be reached with a ladder and leads to the bell tower.
A steep, vaulted passage in the basement of the round tower enables access to the outside of the apse . Two three-quarter columns divide the apse into three fields, each pierced by a round arched window. The archivolts of the windows are decorated with a frieze of rolled leaves and intertwined leaf tendrils. Winged lions and harpies with Phrygian caps can be seen on the two capitals of the central apse window . Under the roof of the apse there is a cornice supported by corbels depicting animals and people.
portal
The portal opens in a narrow, roofed porch on the south facade. It is surrounded by six archivolts, which are decorated with round bars . The third archivolt is decorated with leaves. The fighters and the capitals of the pillars on which the archivolts rest show a rich pictorial program.
On the left, a dragon bites into the shield of a knight dressed in chain mail, who thrusts his sword into the body of the dragon. On the adjoining capitals, two fighting centaurs and winged snakes can be seen. This is followed by the depiction of a naked man with a rope around his neck, on which a purse is hanging and on which a devil is pulling, a scene that is supposed to show greed. The next capital shows a dying man on his death bed, to whom a priest is holding an open book, behind which hovers an angel with outspread wings. The fighter above the post, which carries the innermost arch of the portal, has the balancing of the soul as its theme. The Archangel Michael weighs a soul while a devil tries to pull down a scale.
On the warrior on the right, the three Marys are depicted with ointment vessels in their hands at the tomb of Jesus. An angel points to the empty tomb. A man and a woman stand to one side, both clad in pleated cloaks. The following chapter shows two people in similar clothes and holding a book. Three capitals are decorated with leaves curled at the tips, and another with a pair of harpies. Another capital shows two bearded figures, one figure, perhaps the apostle Peter, is holding two large keys. The capitals are followed on the right side of the portal by a relief depicting nine people, presumably a no longer complete cycle of monthly images .
Representation of avarice, weighing of the soul
Weighing of the soul
Two bearded figures
Relief with the cycle of monthly pictures
inner space
The single-nave nave opens into a choir with a semicircular apse in the east . Six steps are necessary to overcome the great difference in height, caused by the rocky subsoil, between the nave and the choir, another three steps lead to the apse. The pointed triumphal arch , which is doubled by another jagged arch, rests on pillars whose bases stand on high pedestals. The plinths continue on the walls of the choir room as benches, above which blend arcades with three-pass arches run. These lie in the middle on double columns with figurative capitals, which, however, are badly damaged. The capitals on the triumphal arch are also carved with figural scenes and the fighters are decorated with foliage. The capital on the right-hand side shows a pair of griffins, the left-hand side shows St. George killing the dragon, and Samson's fight with the lion.
literature
- Carlos M. Martín Jiménez: Las mejores rutas por el Románico de Palencia . Edilesa, León 2008, ISBN 978-84-8012-632-8 , pp. 140-142.
- César del Valle Barreda: Antigua Merindad de Aguilar de Campoo . Fundación Santa María la Real , Aguilar de Campoo 2009, ISBN 978-84-89483-55-2 , pp. 47-48.
Web links
- Ermita de Santa Cecilia Románico Norte / Fundación Santa María la Real (Spanish, accessed August 8, 2013)
- Ermita de Santa Cecilia romanicoaragones.com (Spanish, accessed August 8, 2013)
Coordinates: 42 ° 46 '26.4 " N , 4 ° 22' 3.7" W.