Logbook · 30 places

Portico of Glory

Santiago de Compostela, Santiago, A Coruña

1 Villages · 12 Monuments · 6 Nature · 3 Activities · 7 Curiosities · 1 Historical milestones

Spain › Galicia › A Coruña › Santiago › Santiago de Compostela › Portico of Glory

Portico of Glory

Monument · Santiago de Compostela, Santiago, A Coruña

The Pórtico de la Gloria is the sculptural ensemble that Master Mateo and his workshop carved in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, commissioned by King Ferdinand II of León, who financed the work with one hundred maravedís a year between 1168 and 1188. Its lintels were placed on 1 April 1188 and the temple was consecrated in 1211 in the presence of Alfonso IX. Three arches presided over by the Pantocrator, surrounded by the evangelists and the elders of the Apocalypse, close off this hinge-point ensemble between the Romanesque and the Gothic. It was once polychrome, though today only traces of colour remain, and some of its original figures were removed when the Baroque façade of the Obradoiro was raised in the 18th century, leaving it boxed in behind it; they are preserved in the Cathedral Museum.

Photo: pedronchi (CC BY 2.0)

What to see and do in Santiago de Compostela