ARCHITECT, Spanish
(active around 1149 in Castile and León)

Interior view

1149
Photo
San Isidoro, León

Built mostly in the Romanesque style, the basilica of San Isidoro has had major additions in the styles of many succeeding centuries including the Gothic. The arches on the crossing of the transept hark back to Islamic art. However the many styles merge into a harmonious whole.

The Romanesque church was erected on a site where several other churches had stood before it. The last of these had been built during the reign of Fernando I, the first king of León and Castile. Immediately after the consecration of the church in 1063, the king died. In the following years his widow, Dona Sancha had the so-called Panteón de los Reyes built to the west of the church site. The Panteón, the burial monument of the kings, is today the oldest part of the building complex.

Soon after the completion of the Panteón the actual church, too, was rebuilt from scratch by being transformed into a large, completely vaulted, aisled basilica with transepts, terminating in a triple apse. In 1149 the church was consecrated in the presence of King Alfonso VII.

The photo shows the view of the nave towards west.

View the ground plan of San Isidoro, León.