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Cathedral of Santa Maria de la Seu d'Urgell

la Seu d'Urgell, Alt Urgell, Lleida

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Cathedral of Santa Maria de la Seu d'Urgell

Monument · la Seu d'Urgell, Alt Urgell, Lleida

Cathedral of Santa Maria de la Seu d'Urgell

The cathedral of Santa Maria de la Seu d'Urgell is the only entirely Romanesque one in Catalonia, considered a unique example for its Italianate features, visible above all in the ornamentation of the façade and in the open gallery of the east end. The present church, from the 12th century, is presided over by the Mare de Déu d'Urgell, patron saint of the city, a polychrome carving from the 13th century placed in the apsidiole of the high altar and restored in 1922; tradition also calls her the Virgin of Andorra, for having remained hidden there during the Saracen invasion. It is the fourth cathedral built in the diocese and the third erected on the same site; around it grew the quarter that Latin documents called vicus Sedes Urgelli, the origin of the city's name.

Photo: Jordiferrer (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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