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About...

This tiny pre-Romanesque chapel of the 10th century is an architectural gem, one of the most beautiful and certainly the most faithful witness of the Mozarabic art in Spain during the High Middle Ages. Indeed, this building has spent centuries without damage or significant change in the later periods and we got it intact and almost in the state of construction.

The term "Mozarabic" meant the Christians who lived in the Spanish peninsula in the zone under Arab occupation. Subject to payment of a tax, they retained the right to practice their religion and build cultural edifices. The style of the Mozarabic buildings mixed subtly the Visigoth legacy and Arab influences.

A former deed allows to date, in 940, the construction of this chapel. Although tiny (8.50 m long), this chapel is very finely build, both externally and internally. It is composed of three parts: a western narthex with side-entrance, a square nave vaulted of edges and an apse choir included in a square block of masonry. The choir contained the altar and is so small it can hardly contain more than one person at a time; its size and its shape evokes more the mihrab of a mosque that a Christian chapel choir. These three parts are interconnected by fine horseshoe arches.

San Miguel chapel is listed in the Registro General de Bienes de Interés Cultural (Historical Spanish Heritage) since 1923.

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Dictyography:

- Notice Wikipédia

License: common law (copyright) | Author: Secanda

Free use for private purposes. Any commercial use is prohibited.

Categories: Churches, Chapels and Abbeys | Middle Ages s.l. | Early Middle Ages | Spain |