New research on the history of the construction of the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela

Abstract

An interdisciplinary project by the BTU (Brandenburgische Technische Universität) Cottbus (Germany) and the University of Bern (Switzerland) is analysing the construction of the Romanesque cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. The in-depth study of the construction through an accurate planimetric survey of the walls and a complete study of the documentation concerning the sculpture has led to knowledge of several changes in the architecture and the sculptural programme due to substantial modifications in the initial project. This article uncovers several changes previous to the consecration in 1211, especially in the crypt, the Pórtico de la Gloria and the western gallery. Likewise further results of a project to reconstruct the primitive form of the medieval cathedral and subsequent are also anticipated. This project also considers the initial project and the various different architectural concepts on which the subsequent remodelling was based, and analyses the various different stages of construction in relation to the typological development of Romanesque churches of pilgrimage.

Keywords

• cathedral of santiago de compostela
• medieval architecture
• medieval sculpture
• measurement of facings
• evolution of construction
• construction stages
• pórtico de la gloria