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Basilica of Santa Maria de Vilafranca

Vilafranca del Penedès, Alt Penedès, Barcelona

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Basilica of Santa Maria de Vilafranca

Monument · Vilafranca del Penedès, Alt Penedès, Barcelona

Gothic church documented since 1188 in the time of Alfonso the Chaste, largely rebuilt in the 15th century, with a crypt of 1561 and a neo-Gothic facade of 1903-1905 by August Font and Santiago Güell; single nave with five ribbed-vault bays, seven chapels on each side and a polygonal apse of seven sections. The side door, from the late 13th century and retaining traces of Romanesque polychromy, was for years the main entrance. During the Civil War many of its artworks were destroyed, except for the sculptural group The Entombment of Christ, by Josep Llimona; the present large stained-glass windows, from the 1950s, replaced earlier ones lost in a fire in 1934. Raised to minor basilica by Benedict XV in 1920. A Cultural Asset of National Interest since 2014.

Photo: MARIA ROSA FERRE ✿ (CC BY-SA 2.0)

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