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Mare de Déu dels Arcs

Santa Pau, Garrotxa, Girona

1 Villages · 9 Monuments · 2 Nature · 2 Activities · 1 Historical milestones · 1 Food and drink

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Mare de Déu dels Arcs

Monument · Santa Pau, Garrotxa, Girona

Mare de Déu dels Arcs, in the municipal area of Santa Pau (Garrotxa), was the village's parish church until the present temple was built next to the castle; an earlier cell dedicated to Saint Mary already existed around 867, held by the Benedictines of Banyoles, and the dels Arcs invocation is documented in 1157, according to the legend of the finding of the image in a cave shaped like arches. The present sanctuary is a single-nave Romanesque church, with a transept and semicircular apse, from the 12th century; the earthquakes of 1427 forced its reconstruction, with a Baroque façade completed in 1775. Next to the church stands the hostatgeria (pilgrims' hostel) of the 17th and 18th centuries. Popes Urban VIII and Innocent X granted indulgences to its pilgrims in 1644 and 1652.

Photo: Josep Salvany i Blanch (Public domain)

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