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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Segovia Cathedral

The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption and of Saint Fructus is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in the Spanish city of Segovia. The church is dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and to Saint Fructus and is the seat of the Diocese of Segovia. It was built in the Flamboyant style, and was dedicated in 1768, constituting one of the latest Gothic cathedrals in Europe.

History

The Cathedral, Segovia by William Strang.

The original cathedral stood adjacent to the Alcazar and was destroyed during the Revolt of the Comuneros. During the Revolt , the city of Segovia murdered their legislator after he voted against their interests during the Cortes of Corunna celebrated on April 22, 1520. Rodrigo Ronquillo was sent to investigate the murder, but the city refused him entry, leading to the blockade of Segovia. The supporters of Charles V barricaded themselves inside the Alcazar, while the Comuneros intended to take the cathedral and use it as a strategic position to siege the Alcazar. After 6 months of constant siege, the Comuneros were defeated in Villalar and the original cathedral layed in ruins.

Charles V then ordered a new cathedral to be built, but demanded it to be built in a completely different place to prevent a similar outcome in the case of another siege to the Alcazar. The new cathedral was to be built on top of the Convent of Saint Clare of the Cross and part of the jewish quarter (its actual location). The chosen architect was Juan Gil de Hontañón and the first stone was layed on June 8, 1525. To reduce costs, some of the remains of the previous cathedral were used in its construction, suchs as the cloister.

The cathedral had three construction stages: the first between 1525 and 1557 with the architect Juan Gil de Hontañón, his son Rodrigo and García de Cubillas. The second stage took place between 1578 and 1607 by Rodrigo de Solar, Juan Pescador, Diego de Sisniega and others; the last construction campaign was carried out between 1607 and 1685 by Pedro de Brizuela or Francisco de Viadero, due to its peculiar construction, the chancel was not closed until the last year of this stage. The tower originally had a spire of American mahogany wood, but in 1614 the present stone spire was built after lightning caused a fire in the original spire. In 1686 the construction of the Ayala Chapel was begun. The cathedral was consecrated on July 16, 1789 by Bishop Don José Martínez Escalzo.

In June 2017, the Tapestry and liturgical ornaments room was opened, on December 28, 2018, the painting room was inaugurated, a year later, the renovation of the room of Saint Catherine began.

Architecture

The building's structure features three tall vaults and an ambulatory, with fine tracery windows and numerous stained glass windows. The interior is characterized by unity of style (late Gothic), except for the dome, built around 1630 by Pedro de Brizuela. The Gothic vaults are 33 meters high by 50 meters wide and 105 long. The bell tower reaches almost 90 meters. The current stone spire crowning the tower, dating from 1614, was erected after a major fire caused by a thunderstorm. The original spire, entirely Gothic, was built of American mahogany, had a pyramidal structure, and was the tallest tower in Spain.

The retablo mayor, or main reredos, of the cathedral was carved by Francisco Sabatini, and is dedicated to the Virgin of the Peace. It is adorned with the Segovian Saints Frutos, Geroteo, Valentín and Engracia. The choir has gothic seating.

Chapels

Among the most prominent chapels are that of the Santísimo Sacramento, with a Reredo by José de Churriguera, the Chapel of San Andrés, with a Triptych of the Deposition by Ambrosius Benson, the Chapel of Piety with the Entombment by Juan de Juni; and the chapel of the Deposition with the recumbent Christ by Gregorio Fernández.

North nave

South nave

Burials

Museum

The cathedral museum has works by Pedro Berruguete, Sánchez Coello and Van Orley, and the cathedral archives treasure the first printed book made in Spain: the Synod of Aguilafuente (1472).

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "Historia". Cathedral of Segovia. Retrieved 2022-09-30.
  2. ^ Flamboyant style at the Encyclopædia Britannica
  3. ^ Haliczer, Stephen (1981). The Comuneros of Castile: the forging of a revolution, 1475-1521. Madison, Wis. London: University of Wisconsin press. ISBN 978-0-299-08500-1.
  4. ^ "Historia - Catedral de Segovia". Catedral de Segovia (in European Spanish). Archived from the original on 2024-08-09. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  5. ^ De los Reyes Gómez, Fermin (2005-09-27). "Segovia y los orígenes de la imprenta española" [Segovia and the origins of the Spanish printing press]. Revista General de Información y Documentación (in Spanish). Madrid: Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Retrieved 2024-03-02.