13. Main Chapel

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_MG_7515© Santiago Cabello (archivo Tintaura S.L.)

_MG_7530© Santiago Cabello (archivo Tintaura S.L.)

_MG_0880© Santiago Cabello (archivo Tintaura S.L.)

13. Main Chapel

The main chapel of the Collegiate Church of Santa María in Calatayud was completed under the episcopate of Martín Terrer de Valenzuela, prelate of Tarazona between 1614 and 1630, whose coat of arms is at the top of the main altarpiece. This altarpiece, attributed to the Bilbilitan sculptors Jaime Viñola and Pedro de Jáuregui and the painter Francisco Florén, is made of gilded and polychromed wood and shows scenes in relief that narrate the life of the Virgin Mary. The vaulted ceiling that covers the chapel rests on scallops at the head and on pendentives at the transept.

The main altarpiece develops a complex narrative iconographic programme with passages from the life of the Virgin, defending her status as Mother of God and intercessor for the salvation of humanity. This programme is complemented by the representation of some Old Testament characters, saints and virtues. On the lower ledge there are two reliefs representing the Martyrdom of Saint Andrew and Saint Martin giving his cloak to a poor man. On the plinths of the bench are representations of the evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, together with the holy martyrs Emerenciana and Engracia.

On the panels between the plinths of the bench there are four scenes in relief: the Adoration of the Shepherds and the Epiphany to the left of the tabernacle, and the Baptism of Christ and the Preaching of John the Baptist in the desert to the right.

The tabernacle, in the form of a small temple covered by a scalloped dome on columns, is closed by a door with a relief of the dead Christ supported by angels. On the crown, the Lamb of God and niches with King David, Moses, Aaron and Melchizedek.

The reliefs on the main body of the altarpiece narrate the life of the Virgin. From left to right, there is the Embrace of Saint Joachim and Saint Anne before the Golden Gate and the Birth of the Virgin; above them, the Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple and the Annunciation; at the top, the Visitation of Mary to her cousin Saint Elizabeth and the Circumcision of Jesus.

The central section was originally occupied by a grandiose sculptural group depicting the Assumption of the Virgin, which was removed in the 18th century and is now in the museum of the collegiate church. In 1780, Gabriel Navarro was commissioned to create a new Assumption, which is the one that currently presides over the altarpiece. The reliefs of Pentecost and Calvary in the attic complete the iconographic ensemble. In the niches of the intercolumniations are represented Saints Peter and Paul, Saint Vincent Martyr, Saint Lawrence, Saint Millán and Saint Íñigo. Crowning the altarpiece are the theological virtues: Hope, Faith and Charity, and at the ends, Saint Prudentius and Saint Gaudentius, patrons of the diocese.

In the presbytery, at the foot of the main altarpiece, lie the mortal remains of two bishops: Don Pedro Cerbuna, founder of the University of Zaragoza, and Vicente Ortiz y Labastida. These illustrious figures await the day of the resurrection in the place where kings and nobles left their banners and weapons, notably the votive shields of Ferdinand II the Catholic and Charles I. The embroidered silk and gold heraldic tapestries graced the visits of monarchs who, from the Catholic Monarchs to Isabella II, visited the city.