Zaragoza city: Catedral de la Seo (San Salvador) Province of Zaragoza. Aragon.

The roman temple

La Seo has a remarkable historical and artistic interest that derives from its religious function. An interest that remains in this same place for 2000 years, shortly after the foundation of the city by Emperor Augustus, in the last quarter of the 1st century BC.

Under the foundations of La Seo, the archaeological traces of the most important temple of Caesaraugusta and one of the largest in Roman Hispania have been discovered, reflected in the coins of its time.

During the Visigoth period, the substitute for that Roman temple was a church devoted to Saint Vincent.

The mosque

Tradition attributes the foundation of the main mosque of Saraqusta al Baida, Zaragoza the white city, to Hanas al-San'anî, a disciple of one of Muhammad's relatives. This legendary character would die in the city in the year 718 and, if true, this fact makes it one of the oldest in Al-Andalus.

From literary news its creation and its two extensions in the 9th and 11th centuries were known, the latter during the mandate of Mundir I, the first king of the Zaragoza Taifa. The archaeological finds of the last decades have expanded this information. To the loose architectural elements and ceramic pieces were added the imprint of the minaret on one of the walls of the cathedral, very close to the current tower.
Its closure and excavation have also provided other objects, its layout and part of its internal distribution. The main doorway of La Seo opens in the same direction as the access to the Muslim enclosure, which consisted of a porticoed ablution patio and a prayer room with nine naves, with the mihrab, or chamber where prayers are directed, in the Eastern side focused towards Mecca. There are doubts about its permanence in the walls of the current Parroquieta and in the interior tower of the current bell tower.

The first Christian Temple

On December 18, 1118, the troops of Alfonso I the Battler entered the city. The donation of the main mosque to Bishop Don Pedro de Librana did not imply his immediate dedication to the Christian faith and the Islamic cult was maintained for a year, a period given to Muslims to settle outside the walls. The solemn consecration under the patronage of El Salvador arrived on October 4, 1121, although this event did not mark the beginning of the transformation of the building and for the moment, the existing enclosure was reused, with a simple partition for the opening of chapels and closing of the annexes necessary for the community of canons.

The temple was not oriented to the East, as was usual in the Middle Ages, but to the North, avoiding the coincidence with the direction of the Muslim prayer towards Mecca.

The cathedral begins to take shape during the bishoprics of don Bernardo Jiménez (1138-1152), when the canons adopt the rule of San Agustín and probably the dismantling of the previous building begins, and don Pedro Tarroja (1153-1184).

La Seo was born with three naves, the central one being larger and the same width as the transept with which a Latin cross was drawn on the ground plan. At the head, three apses and, perhaps, two chapels at the ends facilitated the simultaneity of religious services. Other chapels dedicated to saints and canonical facilities were installed on the sides, such as the two cloisters, one on each side, the archive, the refectory or dining room and the infirmary.

Only the lower part of the main apse and its left collateral have remained as a visible testimony of this first church, which followed the dictates of an advanced Romanesque style.

The apses model in a sober and resounding way the most sacred area of the temple, its head and, above all, the main altar. The pre-eminence of this space means that its exterior receives a more ornamental treatment concentrated in its windows, where the superimposed arches rest on small columns with figured capitals and include the well-known Jaca checkered pattern, a checkerboard-like motif that extends from the Cathedral of Jaca through the churches of the Camino de Santiago.

The Gothic Temple

The initial Romanesque project underwent modifications during the 13th century. The Mudejar artificers gave La Seo a new personality. Plaster and brick, cheaper and easier to obtain local materials, came to prominence changing the aesthetic spatial design of the church.

In 1318 it obtained the rank of Metropolitan Church thanks to the bull of Juan XXII, and Don Pedro López de Luna (1314-1345), the first archbishop of Zaragoza, complained about its state of ruin. For this reason and due to the change in artistic orientation from the Romanesque to the Gothic, a new construction impulse was carried out during the 14th and 15th centuries, creating the great Mudejar cathedral.

The Seo Cathedral of Zaragoza. 17
© 1999 Miguel Angel Latorre.

The apses are increased, the naves rise in height and at the intersection of the central nave with the transept a dome in the form of a tower rises, while the work is filled with light.

The Seo Cathedral of Zaragoza. 7
© 1999 Miguel Angel Latorre.

The Seo Cathedral of Zaragoza. 2
© 1999 Miguel Angel Latorre.

The exteriors were covered by brick ornaments in bands and boxes, forming geometric designs of infinite repetition.

The ceramics with pieces of different shapes and colors, together with the large Gothic windows covered with delicate plaster traceries, complete a wall full of light effects.

From the outside you can admire this wall of the "Parroquieta" or parish chapel of San Miguel Arcángel, which was built in 1360 by Archbishop Lope Fernández de Luna. The building, in exposed brick, is made with polychrome tiles and purely Mudejar decorative motifs.

Once inside, you can first visit the chapel, where the archbishop's tomb is located. The work done in alabaster is by Pedro Moragues (1379).

También se puede admirar la espléndida cúpula en madera ricamente decorada.

The Seo Cathedral of Zaragoza. 5
© 1999 Miguel Angel Latorre.

The Renaissance in the temple

Don Hernando de Aragon changed the work towards a more modern spatial design. The naves were lengthened towards the feet in two more sections and a square "floor plan" was achieved, which revolves around the choir. The Gothic windows were blinded and the vault of the apse was lowered, giving prominence to the dome.

The Seo Cathedral of Zaragoza. 6
© 1999 Miguel Angel Latorre.

The central area houses the retrochoir in the 16th century and a nebula of chapels is taking shape. In 1681 the new tower begins.

The Baroque in La Seo

In the 18th century, the main portal was built in the Plaza de La Seo. This facade follows the guidelines of the classicist baroque. In addition to other decorations, the floor of the interior was covered with a paving of colored marbles that reflect the development of the vaults in plan.

The Seo Cathedral of Zaragoza.
© 1999 Miguel Angel Latorre.

The Cathedral Treasure of La Seo

Also in the sacristy, as in the Pilar, a valuable collection of works of art is exhibited, whose care is exclusively the responsibility of the staff at the service of the temple. The silver busts should be noted, among which the one of San Valero stands out, donated by Pope Luna in 1397; the beautiful monstrance built by Pedro Lamaisón; the oliphant of Gascón de Berne and various religious ornaments of great merit.

The rich collection of tapestry from the 14th to the 17th centuries, which constitutes only a part of those that owns the metropolitan council. As outstanding pieces of the exhibited collection, we must highlight the one entitled "The Ships", "Brutus' Expedition to Aquitaine", a mythological subject conceived as unique, supposed French loom, XV century.
"The Crucifixion", a magnificent cloth that contains a large number of scenes from the Passion of the Lord, together with allegories of Abraham's bosom and an expressive grotto of hell. Specimen also belonging to a French loom from the end of the 14th century.

The "Exaltation of the Holy Cross", allusive to the rescue of the cross and its entry into Jerusalem by Emperor Heracio.
From the series "Vices and Virtues", the representative of "Original sin and passions in the life of man" is highly interesting and worthy of careful contemplation, it is from the 16th century and comes from the Brussels loom.
With great appeal for its originality and charm is the series of tapestries entitled "Moses drying up the Nile", "Moses throwing down the crown".

Tour of La Seo (El Salvador), Cathedral of Zaragoza

Panoramic view from La Seo

Monuments

A brief list of other important monuments that populate the city would be the following:

Other information of the Municipality

Ample your information on Aragon

If you want Ample your information on Aragon you can begin crossing some Monasteries, o 40 Castles another interesting route is the Mudejar, Patrimony of the Humanity, also you can extend your cultural knowledge on Aragón examining its municipal and institutional heraldy without forgetting, of course, some of its emblematicas figures as San George Pattern of Aragon or its personages I illustrate adding to these data a minimum crossed by its history o some books.

Also Aragon enjoys a diverse and varied Nature where passing by plants, animals, or landscapes we can arrive at a fantastic bestiario that lives in its monuments.

The information will not be complete without a stroll by its three provinces: Zaragoza, Teruel and Huesca and ours varied Regions, with shutdown in some of its spectacular landscapes like Ordesa or the Moncayo or by opposition in the valle of the Ebro.

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Also you can dedicate you to the intangible ones: from the legend compilation that also does to universal Aragon you can persecute the presence of Santo Grial in Aragon.

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Zaragoza city: Catedral de la Seo (San Salvador)

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Zaragoza city: Catedral de la Seo (San Salvador) Province of Zaragoza. Aragon. Spain.

Temple Zaragoza