Segovia Cathedral

About

The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption and of Saint Fructus is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in the Spanish city of Segovia. The church is dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and to Saint Fructus and is the seat of the Diocese of Segovia. It was built in the Flamboyant style, and was dedicated in 1768, constituting one of the latest Gothic cathedrals in Europe.

The original cathedral stood adjacent to the Alcazar and was destroyed during the Revolt of the Comuneros. During the Revolt, the city of Segovia murdered their legislator after he voted against their interests during the Cortes of Corunna celebrated on April 22, 1520. Rodrigo Ronquillo was sent to investigate the murder, but the city refused him entry, leading to the blockade of Segovia. The supporters of Charles V barricaded themselves inside the Alcazar, while the Comuneros intended to take the cathedral and use it as a strategic position to siege the Alcazar. After 6 months of constant siege, the Comuneros were defeated in Villalar and the original cathedral laid in ruins.

Charles V then ordered a new cathedral to be built, but demanded it to be built in a completely different place to prevent a similar outcome in the case of another siege to the Alcazar. The new cathedral was to be built on top of the Convent of Saint Clare of the Cross and part of the Jewish quarter (its actual location). The chosen architect was Juan Gil de Hontañón and the first stone was laid on June 8, 1525. To reduce costs, some of the remains of the previous cathedral were used in its construction, suchs as the cloister.

The cathedral had three construction stages: the first between 1525 and 1557 with the architect Juan Gil de Hontañón, his son Rodrigo and García de Cubillas. The second stage took place between 1578 and 1607 by Rodrigo de Solar, Juan Pescador, Diego de Sisniega and others; the last construction campaign was carried out between 1607 and 1685 by Pedro de Brizuela or Francisco de Viadero, due to its peculiar construction, the chancel was not closed until the last year of this stage. The tower originally had a spire of American mahogany wood, but in 1614 the present stone spire was built after lightning caused a fire in the original spire. In 1686 the construction of the Ayala Chapel was begun. The cathedral was consecrated on July 16, 1789, by Bishop Don José Martínez Escalzo.

In June 2017, the Tapestry and liturgical ornaments room was opened, on December 28, 2018, the painting room was inaugurated, a year later, the renovation of the room of Saint Catherine began. On February 1, 2024, restoration work began on the altarpiece of the Chapel of Santiago and the crypt, the entrance to which is located in the aforementioned chapel. The restoration work was completed at the end of 2024.4

Inside you can appreciate its late Gothic style. It has a structure in three high naves, which receive the name of nave of the Gospel and nave of the Epistle; and ambulatory, emphasizing its beautiful windows of complicated and fine tracery as well as the extraordinary quality of the numerous stained glass windows. The interior shows a remarkable unity of style (late Gothic), except in the dome of 1630 and presents an imposing and sober appearance. Its Gothic vaults rise to a height of 30 meters and measure 50 meters wide and 109 meters long. The transept is covered with a dome finished by Pedro de Brizuela in the 17th century. The tower currently reaches almost 90 meters.

The present altar was ordered to be built by Charles III (1759–1788), with a design by Francisco Sabatini (1722–1795). It was begun in 1768 and finished in 1775 in the workshops of the Royal Palace of Madrid.

The main altarpiece of the cathedral of Segovia, which occupies the High Altar, is a set of marbles of different colors and bronzes that recreate a neoclassical structure.

On a plinth covered with black marble veined in white, there is a pedestal, on which rises an altarpiece formed by two bodies of different heights. The lower one is larger with two large columns on each side of the central niche. In the intercolumniations there are two big images in white marble of Saint Frutos and Saint Hierotheos of Segovia, works of Adeba Pacheco. In the central niche is a seated image of the Virgin of Peace (XIII century) and that was donated by King Henry IV to the cathedral, although it is believed that its owner may well have been King Ferdinand III. Currently this image is covered with silver, work done by Antonio Vendetti in 1775, as well as the seat on which the image sits. In the superior part of the altarpiece, on the cornice two seated images in white color, of San Valentín and Santa Engracia with the palms of martyrdom, and in the center of the pediment the anagram of the Virgin.

The grilles that close the High Altar are baroque, work of Antonio de Elorza (1736) and were gilded by Miguel and José Borbúa of Segovia. They are decorated with lilies, coats of arms and medallions in the crests.

Located in front of the High Altar, it is enclosed by a grille designed by Antonio Elorza in 1729. The choir stalls were brought from the old cathedral, and placed in 1558 by Juan Gil and Jerónimo de Amberes, and finished in 1790 by Fermín Huici. It is of flamboyant Gothic style, from the end of the 15th century and was ordered by Bishop Juan Arias Dávila.

The arches that form the back of the chairs are ogee arches that in turn enclose lowered arches supported by very long columns. In the upper part, the chairs are decorated with openwork tracery. There are seats reserved for the kings, closer to the grille, to be able to follow the divine offices. Both seats are topped by two small Gothic domes. Above the episcopal chair the coat of arms of Juan Arias Dávila.

The space between the choir and the main chapel is called “Via Sacra”, in it there are several burials of bishops and a marble pulpit with reliefs of the evangelists and the Immaculate Conception.

The current altarpiece that occupies the retroquire was located in the Palace of Riofrío, but was moved to its current location in 1782, it only consisted of a central body, so it was necessary to add two more wings to occupy all the space between pillar and pillar. The settlement of the altarpiece was carried out by Ventura Rodríguez and Juan de la Torre y López, the latter responsible for the elaboration of the sides of the choir in the Gospel and Epistle aisles. These sides have niches in which are located the sculptures of the four evangelists made by Manuel Adeva Pacheco.

The altarpiece was the work of Hubert Dumandre in 1758, the main materials of the altarpiece are Spanish marble. The altarpiece consists of a central body and its two wings, added later. The central body is occupied by a silver urn, work of Sebastián de Paredes in 1633, which contains the relics of Saint Frutos. Above this body are sculptures of St. Peter, St. Paul and the Holy Trinity. In the right body there is an effigy of St. Elizabeth and in the right one of St. Philip. This is in memory of the parents of Charles III, for his donation of the altarpiece.

The original organs of the old Cathedral were built in 1473 during the reign of Enrique IV, the person in charge of their construction was Johan Cortexo. Due to the destruction of the old cathedral, the organs were moved to the Convent of Santa Clara until 1559, when they were relocated to the choir of the new Cathedral.

The two present organs were built in 1702 and 1769 by order of the Cabildo. The first organ to be replaced was the one in the nave of the Epistle, commissioned on July 7, 1700, and delivered in August 1702 under the orders of Pedro de Liborna Echevarría.

The organ on the Gospel side began its construction in 1769 thanks to a donation made by the bishop of Segovia, Juan José Martínez y Descalzo. The Cabildo commissioned Pedro Manuel de Echevarría to build it, although it would be his son, José de Echevarría who would practically carry out the construction.

It was granted to Antonio Idiáquez Manrique, bishop of Segovia, to be used as a family pantheon. It preserves a baroque altarpiece executed by José Vallejo Vivanco between 1696 and 1697, and dedicated to Saint Anton, whose image presides over the whole, the work of Pedro Valle, who also began the tomb of the prelate and left it unfinished when he died. The praying image of Idiáquez, accompanied by a page, was finally made by the Segovian José Galbán, son-in-law of Juan Alonso de Villabrille y Ron. The effigy of the titular saint was stewed by Pedro Gutiérrez, and painted by Matías de Ortega, and the paintings are due to Francisco Herranz.

The Chapel of the Pietà, also known as the Chapel of the Holy Burial, was founded by Juan Rodríguez de Noreña, canon fabriquero of the cathedral itself, who commissioned the chapel's altarpiece to Juan de Juni, who in 1571 made a piece similar to the Burial of Christ that he made in the middle of the 16th century in Valladolid. In front of the main altar there is a canvas representing the doubt of the apostle Saint Thomas, attributed to Alonso Sánchez Coello.