ARCHITECT, Spanish
(active 1109-1200 in León)

Interior view

1109-1200
Photo
San Vicente, Ávila

The construction of the basilica of San Vicente was begun before 1109 when there was a prolonged suspension of work on the church. The construction was resumed around the middle of the twelfth century. Originally the church was intended to follow in the tradition of the great religious buildings along the pilgrims' route: the ground plan is almost identical to that of the old cathedral in Salamanca, with an elongated nave and aisles, a projecting transept, and terminating in the east with a group of three apses arranged in echelon. However, after the resumption of the work a change of style occurred. In the nave the piers are much more massive than those of the earlier buildings, and they ride up from mighty round bases. Half-columns are attached to the cruciform-based piers.

The photo shows the interior of the nave.

View the ground plan of San Vicente, Ávila.