17. The Mudejar tower and apse, World Heritage Site

The Collegiate Church of Santa María boasts important recognitions that confirm its exceptional historical and artistic value. It was declared a National Monument in 1884, later a Site of Cultural Interest in 1985, and finally its tower, apse and cloister achieved the highest distinction as a World Heritage Site in 2001. These three medieval elements have maintained their architectural identity despite having been integrated into the temple built in the 17th century and having undergone various extensions throughout their history.

From a typological perspective, the tower of Santa María de Calatayud is classified among those derived from the Hispano-Muslim minaret, characterised by its structure of two concentric octagonal towers with the staircase located in the intermediate space. Unlike other Mudejar towers where the central buttress starts from the base, in Santa María this core rests on a robust vault formed by the approximation of courses, which allows the use of the lower space as a chapel accessible from inside the collegiate church.

The tower was designed in perfect correspondence with the apse, and it is likely that both elements began to be built simultaneously at the beginning of the 15th century. This connection is evident in the identical decoration of the first section of the tower and the first section of the apse: each section has a blank window with a pointed arch, above which there are three friezes of angled bricks, blocks that vaguely evoke a chequered pattern, and geometric designs of interlaced blades, typical of Mudejar architecture.

The original tower probably did not exceed the second level of openings, the height at which the first set of bells was possibly located. Shortly afterwards, it was extended, an intervention that may have included the construction of the staircase accessible from the cloister.

During the 16th century, the medieval tower underwent a further extension to raise the belfry, a project that could have been carried out at the end of the 15th century or as a consequence of the raising of the apse and the reform of the main chapel. The exterior walls were decorated with projecting brick bands forming diamond shapes or sebka motifs. At the same time, the apse was extended with an additional section in which the number of walls was reduced from seven to four, distributed in two sections: in the lower section a semicircular window was opened with three archivolts in each section, while in the upper section three semicircular arches with two archivolts were arranged, joined together by a projection at the level of the imposts and decorated with friezes of diamonds and angled bricks.

At the end of the 17th century, years after the completion of the current temple, the last two sections that crown the tower were added. Later, during the 18th century, the bulbous spire of Baroque aesthetics was installed, resting on a drum perforated with oculi and rising on a solid wooden structure covered with lead.

The stairwell is approximately one and a half metres wide, with four steps per flight. These are covered with trapezoidal brick vaults, one per flight, ten courses high. As an exception, the last flights are covered with barrel vaults.

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16. Museum of the Collegiate Church of Santa Maria

The museum of the Collegiate Church of Santa Maria occupies the entire cloister and houses a valuable collection of movable property from three main sources: the church itself, churches and convents that no longer exist in Calatayud, and pieces on loan from parishes in the region belonging to the Bishopric of Tarazona. The exhibition is organised according to a dual criterion that combines the religious aspect, representing the path of faith, with a chronological order that covers the history of art.

On entering the museum, in the first section of the tour, a 13th-century stone baptismal font with an interesting decoration of arches, from the Church of Saint Andrew, immediately stands out. Next to this piece is a magnificent Romanesque Christ carved in polychrome wood, as well as various Gothic works, both sculptural and pictorial. Among the latter, the Virgin of Mediavilla (Middle Town) stands out, which once presided over the original main altarpiece of the collegiate church, and the altarpiece of the Epiphany by Tomás Giner, considered one of the most prestigious Aragonese painters of the Crown of Aragon during the 15th century.

Continuing towards the next bay, visitors can contemplate magnificent examples of sculpture and painting from the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. In this space, exceptional pieces stand out, such as a beautiful ivory altarpiece, a spectacular Gothic panel representing Saint Christopher, the post-mortem portrait of the Bishop of Tarazona, Don Pedro Cerbuna, and a display case that protects valuable books made of vellum and parchment that form part of the rich Archive of the Collegiate Church.

The next section is dedicated to the different religious orders that had convents in the city, both male and female, including Dominicans, Mercedarians, Franciscans, Carmelites, Jesuits and Augustinians, among others. Among the outstanding works in this section is the great carving of the Assumption of the Virgin that originally presided over the current main altarpiece before being replaced in the 18th century, the fantastic canvas of the Immaculate Conception by Francisco Bayeu, the portrait of the Venerable Father Ruzola, a Carmelite from Calatayud who wielded great influence at the court of Emperor Ferdinand II of Austria, and a magnificent sculpture representing Saint Dominic of Guzmán and Saint Francis of Assisi, founders of the Dominican and Franciscan orders respectively, symbolically sustaining the weight of the Catholic Church.

The New Chapter House features beautiful pieces of precious metalwork, most of which belong to the liturgical furnishings of the Collegiate Church. Among the reliquaries on display, the gilded silver arm containing relics of San Íñigo de Oña, patron saint of the city, and the venerated relic of the Holy Thorn stand out. Also on display is a notable collection of gilded and natural-colour silver chalices dating from the 15th to the 18th centuries, monstrances, pyxes, valuable spouted jugs and a Sevillana jug of clear Arab tradition. The processional and altar crosses include two exceptional examples with rock crystal plaques, one of which contains a lignum crucis.

Finally, in the display cases in the last section of the cloister, some unique pieces from villages in the region of the Community of Calatayud can be admired, temporarily on loan to the museum. These include a Madonna of Trapani carved in polychrome and gilded alabaster, owned by the parish of the church of La Granja de San Pedro, and a spectacular piece of amber furniture, the Queen’s Dressing Table, made in Poland, which was a gift from the sultana of Morocco to Queen Maria Luisa of Parma, and which currently forms part of the liturgical furnishings of the church of Santa María de Olvés.

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15. The Cloister, tower and apse of Santa María la Mayor

The Muslim influence left a deep mark on Calatayud after the conquest by Alfonso I the Battler in 1120, particularly in the splendour of the local Mudejar art. This artistic legacy can be appreciated in the Collegiate Church of Santa María la Mayor, whose main construction dates from the beginning of the 17th century, but which integrates valuable Mudejar elements from previous periods. In fact, its apse, tower and cloister were recognised by UNESCO as outstanding examples of Aragonese Mudejar art, receiving the designation of World Heritage Site in 2001.

The cloister is the oldest part of the complex and is possibly a vestige of the old main mosque. Its peculiar rectangular floor plan, with a length that is twice its width, distinguishes it from other traditional square-plan cloisters. Significantly, its major axis has a rotation of 30 degrees with respect to the church, orienting itself towards the southeast in the direction of Mecca.

A decisive moment in the history of the cloister occurred in 1415, when, by means of a papal bull issued by Pope Luna (Benedict XIII) and thanks to the generosity of Miguel Sánchez de Algaraví, an aristocrat from the town of Calatayud, a General Study was established there. This date coincides with the reform that gave rise to the current ribbed vaults. In its original configuration, the cloister had twenty-nine bays distributed in ten along its length and five across, with a double row in the southwest. However, the reorientation of the church in the 17th century meant the elimination of two bays on the south side, leaving it reduced to twenty-seven. The keystones that join the ribs of the vaults are mostly decorated in the flamboyant Gothic style, with the exception of two that show clear Islamic influence.

The cloister doorway stands out for its elaborate decoration at the entrance to the church, featuring a tympanum with 15th-century plasterwork and three sculptures of angels bearing shields with symbols related to water and fire. These iconographic elements are linked to the Platonic worldview about the structure and functioning of the universe, a conception that had a great influence on later philosophical and scientific thought. On the keystone that closes the vaulted entrance to the cloister of the collegiate church, the letter ‘B’, the symbol of Benedict XIII, can be seen.

Both the date and the style of the keystones suggest that the master responsible for this remodelling was Mahoma Ramí, who also worked on the now disappeared church of Saint Peter Martyr under the patronage of Pope Luna.

On the southwest side is the primitive chapter house, which possibly dates back to the second quarter of the 14th century, prior to the aforementioned reform. Its doorway, made of black alabaster from Fuentes de Jiloca, follows the Cistercian design, with geminated windows on the sides. These windows have a tumid arch (pointed horseshoe), an element that is not very common in Mudejar art and which probably imitated some Arabic model that has since disappeared.

Finally, towards the first quarter of the 17th century, a new chapter house was built at the north-western end of the courtyard, the lunette vaults of which are richly ornamented with baroque plasterwork featuring interlacing, and a second floor was added to the complex.

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14. Chapel of Holy Christ

The Chapel of Santo Cristo (Holy Christ), also known as the chapel of the Peralta Forcén Bernabeu del Castillo family, is a notable example of architecture located at the base of the bell tower of the collegiate church of Santa María. Its structure is integrated into the lower part of the tower, which follows a design similar to that of the church of San Andrés, with an exterior tower and interior counter-tower configuration. The latter rests on an approach casemate built with rows of brick, creating an octagonal space at its base. It is important to note that access to the tower is from above, above this casemate.

The chapel’s recent history marks a turning point in 1973, when its original partitioned vault concealing the brick casemate was removed. Photographic records prior to this date show that both the vault and the eight walls of the chapel featured elaborate baroque plasterwork, and the space was dominated by a magnificent 18th-century altarpiece, characterised by its Solomonic columns and a crucified Christ. During the works to consolidate the collegiate church, the restoration architect decided to remove all the Baroque decoration, considering it incompatible with the Mudejar origins of the tower. This intervention included the dismantling of the altarpiece, keeping only the image of the crucified Christ. In the most recent restoration, faced with the impossibility of recovering the original appearance, it was decided to cover the walls with alabaster.

The chapel is accessed through a semicircular arch, located at the head on the Epistle side, forming part of a doorway that finds its symmetrical reflection in the chapel of the Solitude, located on the Gospel side. The decoration of the doorway displays a rich baroque ornamental programme that includes Corinthian pilasters, split curved pediments, plant motifs, masks and horns of plenty. Also noteworthy are the angels holding the column of the scourging and the Holy Cross, a Eucharistic pelican and the heraldic shield of the commissioners, who established this space as their funeral pantheon from 1615, as indicated by an inscription.

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13. Main Chapel

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.

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12. History of the building

The Collegiate Church of Santa María in Calatayud is a historical and cultural monument of great relevance in Spain, with a rich history dating back to the 12th century. Its architectural and artistic evolution reflects the confluence of diverse cultural influences and styles throughout the centuries.

History and origins

The history of the Collegiate Church of Santa María begins in the year 1120, when the Aragonese monarch Alfonso I the Battler conquered the city of Calatayud. According to tradition, the city’s main mosque was purified and consecrated as a church under the title of Santa María. This has been corroborated by the discovery of the remains of a large Islamic building under the apse of the present-day collegiate church, which suggests that the Christian church was built on the foundations of an earlier Islamic structure.

Bilbilitan expert Agustín San Miguel Mateo had already proposed that the floor plan of the temple and part of the cloister were built on the remains of an ancient Islamic building from the Caliphate period, a hypothesis that has been confirmed by archaeological finds.

Architectural evolution

In 1144-1145, the church was mentioned in a papal bull of Pope Lucius II as Santa María de la Mediavilla (Middle Town). In November 1249, a new Romanesque church was consecrated on the same site, with three stone apses and a brick nave. However, this building was damaged during the War of the Two Peters (1356-1369), which led to its reconstruction at the end of the 14th and beginning of the 15th centuries. This reconstruction, possibly sponsored by Pope Luna and directed by his master builder, Mahoma Ramí, followed Mudejar construction principles and decorative styles.

The cloister and the lower parts of the apse and the tower, which were recognised as World Heritage by UNESCO in 2001, date from this period.

Renovations and extensions

At the beginning of the 16th century, an impressive alabaster doorway was built under the episcopate of Gabriel de Ortí and the patronage of the archdeacon Pedro de Villalón. This work, which began in 1525 and ended in 1528, involved the participation of artists such as Esteban de Obray and Juan de Talavera, and possibly also Gabriel Yolí.

Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the interior of the collegiate church was transformed with the construction of the portals of the different chapels, the choir at the centre of the central nave and the sacristy. During the 19th and 20th centuries, some windows were closed or converted into oculi, and the interior was painted in dark colours.

Restoration and recognition

In the 21st century, the Collegiate Church of Santa María has been restored, allowing light to once again play a leading role in the church, in an exaltation of faith. In 1884, it was declared a National Monument, and in 2001, its tower, apse and cloister were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as representing Aragonese Mudejar.

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11. Chapel of Solitude and Sacristy

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10. Choir, after choir and organ

The choir of the Collegiate Church of Santa María in Calatayud is the centre of the life of the chapter and of liturgical music and constitutes the axis of the building. It houses a magnificent Baroque organ made by Silvestre Thomas in 1762, continuing a tradition that goes back to the 15th century. This organ was financed by Juan Miguel Pérez de Nueros y Fernat, a nobleman from Calatayud, and has retained much of its original splendour to this day.

The choir has double seating on three sides, with the communion rail on the fourth side, open to the main chapel. The walnut stalls are adorned with plant motifs, masks and various figures. A lectern with a small temple housing the image of Christ carrying the cross completes the ensemble.

The base of the retrochoir is made of local noble stones, such as black limestone from Calatorao and alabaster from Fuentes de Jiloca. The structure has twenty Solomonic columns of Calatorao stone, with gilded Corinthian capitals, which delimit seven altars. On either side are altars dedicated to the Virgin of the Rosary, Our Lady of Tremedal, the Virgin of Mount Carmel and Our Lady of the Pilar. On the wall of the retrochoir are the altars of Saint Peter of Arbués, Ecce Homo and Saint Íñigo of Oña. Ten niches with reliefs of the Holy Fathers and other saints alternate with the chapels.

The front facing the main chapel is closed off by a bronze gate, crowned by a sculpture of the Virgin of the Assumption. Above the plaster entablature, there is a decoration with images of saints, angels and Marian devotions, with the equestrian representations of Saint George of Cappadocia and Saint James the Moor-Slayer standing out at the corners of the retrochoir.

Flanking the door giving access to the organ and below it are the twin chapels of the Christ of the Seven Words and Saint Barbara of Nicomedia, made around 1775 and paid for by the canon José Mateo. They are modelled on the altarpieces of the retrochoir, made of gilded wood and set on an altar table with a front lined with tiles from the period. Both chapels have the same floor plan, with recesses and projections, concave and convex shapes, and two columns at the ends supporting a semicircular arch that closes the space like a shell. They are profusely decorated in the Rococo style with rockeries, foliage, cherub heads, pendentives, corbels, cornucopias and mirrors.

The altarpiece of the Cristo de las Siete Palabras (Christ of the Seven Words) is presided over by a serene carving of the Crucified One with three nails, from the beginning of the 17th century, with a serene face and well-proportioned body. This Christ forms part of one of the city’s Easter processions and is kept in a cruciform niche, flanked by two sculptures representing hermit saints: Saint Francis of Paula and Saint Onuphrius.

The altarpiece of Saint Barbara of Nicomedia is presided over by three sculptures in the round. The central one shows the titular saint richly dressed in a tunic and cloak, bearing the palm of martyrdom and the tower at her feet, flanked by an Apostle and the Archangel Saint Michael. In the attic, a 20th-century sculpture of Saint Eligius completes the ensemble.

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9. Chapel of the Immaculate Conception

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8. Chapel of the Pietà or of the Virgin of Sorrows

The Chapel of the Pietà, also known as the Chapel of the Virgin of Sorrows, was built as a funeral chapel by the Corella family at the end of the 17th century. This chapel is considered one of the jewels of Aragonese Baroque, forming part of one of the most spectacular ensembles together with the chapels of Saint John the Baptist, Saint Joachim, Saint Joseph and the corners of the back of the choir.

The interior of the chapel has a rectangular floor plan and is covered with a barrel vault. Both the doorway and the vault are profusely decorated in full Baroque style, with stuccoes that cover the entire surface, developing scrolls, angels playing trumpets, cherub heads, garlands of fruit and flowers, among other motifs.

The doorway of the chapel, with a semicircular arch, is flanked by two pilasters that support an entablature and a curved split pediment with prominent scrolls. The inner box of the attic contains a relief of the Virgin of Solitude, topped with a curved split pediment on which sits the Archangel Saint Michael defeating the devil. On both sides, in dynamic positions, allegories of the virtues are represented: Faith and Hope guard the entrance to the chapel, while Justice and Fortitude are placed on the volutes of the pediments, following the same model as the façade of the chapel of Saint John the Baptist. The arms of the Corella family appear on the doorway, the vault and the altarpiece.

The altarpiece, made of gilded and polychrome wood, is covered with profuse plant decoration and the presence of Solomonic columns, fitting in with the canons of the full Baroque of the late 17th century. The vertical elements are brought forward and recessed to generate dynamism and luminous and theatrical effects. On the bench of the altarpiece are two reliefs representing two of the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary: The Flight into Egypt and the Fall of Christ on the road to Calvary. In the central section, a niche in a lowered arch shelters a round Pietà, in which the Virgin holds the inert body of her son at the foot of the cross, with the seven swords symbolising his seven sorrows appearing above his head. In the central street of the attic is Saint Anthony of Padua, flanked by Saint Joseph and Saint Teresa of Jesus on the sides.

Hanging from the side walls of the chapel is a canvas depicting St Francis of Paola and an oil painting with images of St Mary of Egypt and the Venerable Zosimus of Palestine.

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