Tortosa Cathedral: A Gothic and Baroque Cathedral in Spain
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.3
- Popularity
- Medium
- Country
- Spain
- Primary era
- Medieval
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern
- Civilizations
- Crown of Aragon, Spanish
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Cathedral
On this page22 sections
History
Tortosa Cathedral is a Catholic cathedral in Tortosa, Spain, dedicated to the Virgin Mary and serving as the seat of the Diocese of Tortosa. It combines a Romanesque foundation with a Gothic church begun in 1347 and Baroque additions completed over the following centuries. The church also holds the honorific title of minor basilica, granted in 1931, and stands beside the Ebro River in the city’s historic center.
From mosque to Romanesque cathedral
After Ramon Berenguer IV conquered Tortosa in 1148, he granted the city’s principal mosque and its possessions to Bernat Tort, Archbishop of Tarragona and provisional Bishop of Tortosa. Bernat converted the mosque into a cathedral and adapted associated Muslim buildings for monastic use. A new Romanesque cathedral dedicated to Saint Mary was begun in 1158, replacing the adapted mosque. Berenguer de Vilademuls, Archbishop of Tarragona, consecrated it on 28 November 1178 under Bishop Ponç de Monells, in the presence of Alfonso II of Aragon and Sancha of Castile.
The cathedral institution soon developed as a community governed by the Rule of Saint Augustine, a monastic rule traditionally attributed to Augustine of Hippo. Gaufred of Avignon, formerly abbot of the canons of Saint Ruf of Avignon, became bishop in 1151 and established canonical life in the mid-1150s through the Prima Ordinatio Ecclesie Dertusensis. The community initially comprised nine monks and included offices such as prior, chamberlain, sacristan, procurator, and hospitaller. Its membership later rose to twelve.
The chapter and diocese in the Middle Ages
Ponç de Monells definitively structured the canons’ community in 1178 after coming from the monastery of Sant Joan de les Abadesses, bringing liturgical manuscripts with him. In 1278 Arnau de Jardí ordered that the possessions of deceased canons should pass to the chapter, the body responsible for the cathedral’s institutional and liturgical administration. Until 1369, bishops could be chosen only from among the canons. A papal bull issued by Benedict XIII in 1414 records a community of twenty monks. Monastic life continued until Pope Clement XIV secularized the canonry in 1772, converting it into an institution governed by secular clergy.
The diocese also expanded during the early period of Christian rule. Under Bishop Ponç de Torrella, it annexed the Valencian territories of Morella and Burriana. An episcopal palace was built during the episcopate of Berenguer de Prat, between 1316 and 1340. The cloister and the buildings used by the canonical community were constructed during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and the city council met in the cloister galleries during the Middle Ages.
The Gothic rebuilding
The present Gothic cathedral replaced the Romanesque building. Bishop Bernat Oliver solemnly laid its foundation stone on 21 May 1347. The original design associated with Antoni Guarc called for three naves, a passage around the sanctuary, and an apse with nine radiating chapels. Bernat d’Alguaire signed the construction capitulations in May 1346 and became master of the works.
The apse took many decades to complete. Andreu Julià directed the work from 1366 until the end of 1381, followed by Pere Moragues and Joan de Frenoy from 1382 until about 1400, when the radial chapels were completed. Pasqual de Xulbi and his son Joan were working on the apse in 1416, while later stages included the ambulatory vaults and paving. The altar was consecrated in 1441.
Construction of the nave proceeded slowly and was interrupted frequently. Donations from Miquel Terga and Joan Girona in 1487 enabled builders to complete the first nave vault beyond the altar. Its keystone was painted and the section was paved in 1496. By 1586, construction had reached the pillars of the third and fourth bays, and a door was opened between the third bay and the cloister. Bishop Gaspar Punter i Barreda reconsecrated the cathedral in 1597, even though construction was not yet finished. That year also saw the laying of the foundation stones for the baptistery and tower.
Baroque completion and later history
From the 1620s, the cathedral chapter adopted Baroque forms for the completion of the façade. This replaced the earlier Gothic approach with a more Romanizing design. A project prepared by Martí d’Abària around 1625 was delayed by financial difficulties, problems with the foundations, and the army’s refusal to permit a height that would obstruct the cannon line from the castle. Roc Xambó had raised the façade to its decorative frieze by 1730, and Antoni Ferrer later simplified the design in a Classicizing manner. The façade was regarded as complete in 1757. Later studies interpret the supposed monumental five-level design as an unrealized eighteenth-century variation and consider the existing façade complete according to the intentions of the builders and canons of the mid-eighteenth century.
Construction and the addition of chapels continued into the eighteenth century. The Chapel of the Virgin of the Cinta, also called the Royal Chapel, was built between 1672 and 1725. Archaeological excavations indicate that the Roman forum occupied approximately the same location before the cathedral complex was built. The cathedral, together with the Episcopal Palace, was declared a National Cultural Heritage monument in 1931 and is registered in Spain as RI-51-0000923. The basilica title was granted in the same year, while the decree concerning that title is dated 25 June 1919.
The Spanish Civil War damaged the cathedral’s choir severely through bombing, and the principal altarpiece was dismantled for protection. Nine of the ten bells were reportedly destroyed. The smaller reliquary of the Holy Cincture was recovered at Darnius, while the larger reliquary was removed from a Bank of Spain deposit and transported aboard the yacht Vita, apparently toward Mexico. An antiaircraft shelter was built beneath the cloister in 1937 and 1938. Two figures from the principal altarpiece were stolen in the 1970s, and the altarpiece was restored in 1983 by technicians of the Generalitat of Catalonia. Buildings in front of the principal façade were demolished in 2015, and the façade was cleaned and restored between April 2021 and 2022.
Remains
The Gothic church
Nave and chapels
The church has a basilical plan with three naves separated by large pillars. Lateral chapels occupy the spaces between the buttresses, and the nave is divided into five bays. The central nave rises above the side naves and chapels, allowing upper windows to illuminate the interior. Quadripartite rib vaults cover the nave. In the final bays, the pointed arches of the windows and chapels become progressively lower, reflecting the long building period and the change between architectural styles. The chapels in the last bay have coffered barrel vaults rather than rib vaults.
Apse and ambulatory
The semicircular apse is encircled by a double ambulatory, meaning two passageways around the sanctuary. The inner passage is formed by extensions of the side naves, while the outer passage is formed by the radial chapels. Two levels of pointed arches separate the apse from the ambulatory, and the lower level contains open Flamboyant Gothic tracery. The different heights of the apse, ambulatory, and radial chapels create three levels of windows.
At the center of the presbytery, the keystone bears a sculpted and painted representation of the Coronation of the Virgin by Christ, attributed to Bartomeu Santalínea. The exterior of the apse has two tiers of flying buttresses ending in small polygonal turrets. The turrets were intended to carry pinnacles, but the pinnacles were never built. Large buttresses distinguish the exterior of the nave.
Façade, tower, and cloister
Principal façade and campanile
The principal Baroque façade is built from stone quarried at Flix, Vinebre, Ascó, and Riba-roja d’Ebre. Five sections are separated by large pilasters with decorated capitals and topped by a moulded cornice with vegetal ornament. The central entrance has two heavy columns and a curved pediment above it.
A square campanile stands on the right side of the façade. It is relatively low and has two or three openings on each side. Before its construction, the cathedral used a temporary bell structure. The tower contains eight bells, while another hangs in the small bell gable and two more belong to the clock. It also houses a carillon, a set of tuned bells arranged for musical performance, and three liturgical bells. The bell in the gable, called La Vedada, was traditionally used for the Angelus and certain special signals. The major bell, Maria de la Cinta, is described as the ninth-largest bell in Catalonia.
Porta de l’Olivera
The entrance from the cloister, known as the Porta de l’Olivera, has Solomonic columns set on rectangular bases. Images of Saint Candida and Saint Cordula are attached to the columns. Above the cornice are the Virgin of the Cinta, Saint Peter, and Saint Paul, while a Baroque pediment crowns the whole entrance.
Cloister and canonical buildings
The cloister is attached to the cathedral’s south wall and has a trapezoidal plan with covered galleries. Its pointed arches rest on columns with undecorated capitals, except at the garden entrance, where reused late-Romanesque capitals depict scenes from the Passion of Christ. These include Christ’s entry into Jerusalem, the visit of the three Marys to the tomb, Christ before Pilate, and the Descent from the Cross.
The cloister walls contain medieval funerary slabs with inscriptions commemorating people connected with the cathedral chapter, together with six sundials and a Visigothic memorial slab in Latin, Hebrew, and Greek associated with the Jewish community. The former canonical complex around the cloister includes the refectory, Aula Major, dormitory, and Aula Minor. The Aula Minor now preserves the chapter archive. A Visigothic window in the cloister has one column of dark Egyptian gabbro and another of reddish Egyptian porphyry, with bases incorporating red porphyry and green porphyry from the Peloponnese.
The central well, now a fountain, dates from the 1540s and was carved by the French-born stoneworker Miquel Anglès. It originally belonged to the city hall, later entered the municipal museum collection, and was transferred to ecclesiastical authorities after the Civil War. Roman funerary slabs, Roman inscriptions, ancient capitals, the funerary slab of Herennius, and the trilingual Hebrew, Latin, and Greek slab are preserved or displayed in the underground area of the refectory.
Fonts, chapels, and altarpieces
Baptistery and smaller chapels
The baptistery contains an octagonal fifteenth-century font made from Girona stone and bearing the arms of Benedict XIII. Its carved decoration includes an eagle and a dragon, a knight fighting a griffin, and scenes contrasting young and old men. The font may have arrived in Tortosa by 1429 and was first used for baptism in 1719. Before that, it had served as a garden fountain at Peñíscola Castle.
The Chapel of the Rosary, attributed to the master stoneworker Pere Compte, contains the fifteenth-century alabaster tomb of Joan de Girona. Its Rococo altarpiece was made in the second half of the eighteenth century. The eighteenth-century Altarpiece of Saint Joseph combines carved elements with paintings, some of them dating from the sixteenth century.
Altarpiece of the Name of Jesus
The sixteenth-century Altarpiece of the Name of Jesus includes carvings by Vicent Rodorat and Baptista Vázquez, a figure of Christ by Antonio Soto, and a wooden structure by Gabriel Sit based on a model by Sebastiano Serlio. Joan Desi and Jaume Talarn painted the flesh tones and architectural decoration, while Talarn also painted the Annunciation on the pedestal.
Altarpiece of Saint Mary
The principal altar is dominated by the Altarpiece of Saint Mary, popularly known as the Altarpiece of the Virgin of the Star. Made in 1351 from gilded and painted wood, it is a polyptych, an altarpiece composed of connected panels. The interior contains sculpture and the exterior has painted panels. Its sculptural section presents twenty-four scenes from the lives of Christ and the Virgin in three levels and eight bays. Lobed crowning elements, pinnacles, four saints, and a free-standing central image of the Virgin of the Star holding the Child complete the composition. The painted panels depict the Passion and Resurrection of Christ and are attributed to Francesco d’Oberto.
Earlier claims that the sculptural section was made in Italy by Italian artists have been rejected. Carpentry receipts written in Catalan were found within the decoration and indicate manufacture in Catalonia. Recent studies associate the sculpture with Pere Moragues, although this attribution remains interpretive. The altarpiece was probably first installed in the Romanesque cathedral before being moved to the present presbytery in 1441. It was repainted in 1545, apparently after being dismantled and having the order of its scenes changed. It was traditionally kept closed except on major feasts of the Virgin and Christ. In 1935, the painted door panels were recorded in the cathedral canonry dormitory.
Other medieval and Renaissance works
The fifteenth-century Altarpiece of the Transfiguration was formerly placed in a chapel behind the altar in the ambulatory. It was once attributed to the workshop of Jaume Huguet, but documentation connects it with Rafael Vergós and Pere Alemany, who were commissioned to make it in 1498. Since December 2007, it has been displayed in the refectory. One scene shows the Last Judgment and includes the deceased patron emerging from a tomb.
Two stone pulpits from the second half of the fifteenth century display the Evangelists and the Fathers of the Church and bear the heraldry of the Soldevila family. A chapel on the northern side of the ambulatory contains reliefs depicting the life and martyrdom of Saint Peter. Some may be by Pere Moragues, including the scene of Saint Peter conversing with Christ on the walls of Rome, although the reliefs do not all appear to be by the same artist.
An anonymous altarpiece from the former Chapel of Saint Candida was installed in the cathedral in 2018. Made between 1667 and 1681, it has a central relief of an unidentified female martyr holding a palm and closed book, flanked by two other female figures. The Chapel of Saint Candida was demolished in the nineteenth century to make way for the Chapel of the Holy Christ.
Chapel of the Virgin of the Cinta
Architecture and decoration
The Baroque Chapel of the Virgin of the Cinta, also called the Royal Chapel, is larger than the other chapels. Begun in 1672 to a design by Diego Martínez, it has a Latin-cross plan, a two-bay barrel vault, and a large dome supported by pendentives, curved triangular structures that carry a dome over a square or polygonal space. Jasper and several types of marble cover its decoration.
Its marble altarpiece contains an image of the Virgin of the Cinta made in 1822. A silver reliquary made by Francesc and Josep Tramulles in 1727 stands in a niche. It is decorated with leaves, fruit, and angels and contains the relic of the Holy Cincture. Two large jasper columns with gilded capitals frame the altar. The marble cornice shows the Virgin of the Cinta among angels and clouds, with marble sculptures of Saint Peter and Saint Paul below.
Frescoes in the chapel were begun in 1718 by Dionís Vidal and Josep Medina, with later participation by Tomàs Bayarri. Directed by Canon Vicent Gomis, the program includes the Virgin descending from heaven, eight biblical women in the dome, the Virgin passing over the city, and the prophets Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel in the pendentives. Paintings of the Annunciation and Adoration of the Magi are copies by Vicente López of works by the eighteenth-century painter Anton Raphael Mengs. Cathedral dean Manuel Guerra donated them on 12 April 1799. The chapel also contains the tomb of Lluís de Tena, Bishop of Tortosa and President of the Generalitat of Catalonia from 1617 to 1620.
The Holy Cincture
The Holy Cincture is associated with a tradition in which the Virgin appeared to a cathedral canon and gave him a belt-like strip from her clothing as a sign of her love for the people of Tortosa. The relic was kept in a box by 1333 and had been divided between two containers by 1453. The larger silver reliquary, donated by Lluís de Tena in 1619, measured 75 centimeters in height and weighed 6,600 grams. The smaller reliquary, made in 1742, measures 43 centimeters and weighs 2,035 grams.
Treasury and preserved objects
The cathedral treasury and permanent exhibition include a medieval Arabic rectangular casket with a lid, made using wood marquetry and ivory, and a fifteenth-century Flemish tapestry of the Passion of Christ attributed to the Arras master Joan Falsison. They also preserve the ring, gloves, and upper ivory section of the pastoral staff from the funerary furnishings of Bishop Arnau de Jardí.
Other objects include bust reliquaries of Saint Cordula, dating from about 1351, and Saint Candida, dating from around the turn of the sixteenth century. The collection also contains a Renaissance reliquary of Saint Eulalia dated 1551, a Baroque reliquary of Saint James, and a monstrance made in Valencia by Eloi Camanyes and Agustí Roda in 1638. A silver and porcelain image of the Virgin of the Cinta was made by the Barcelona goldsmith Francesc Via in 1706.
The manuscripts and liturgical objects include the twelfth-century Missal of Saint Ruf of Avignon, with covers decorated in champlevé enamel, a technique that fills recessed areas of metal with enamel, and a thirteenth-century manuscript of Augustine’s De Civitate Dei associated with the Ripoll scriptorium, a place where manuscripts were copied and decorated. A silver image of the Guardian Angel dates from the 1440s. Some Roman objects and other material formerly belonged to the municipal Ilercavonia Museum before being transferred to the Church after the Civil War.
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