Vic Cathedral

About

Vic Cathedral (Catalan: Catedral de Vic), officially the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle (Catalan: Catedral de Sant Pere Apòstol), is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Vic, Catalonia, Spain. It is the seat of the Diocese of Vic. It has a mix of Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque and Neoclassic styles.

Nobody knows for sure where the primitive paleochristian and later visigothic basilica once stood, but a cathedral in Vic appears documented at least from the year 516. It was most likely destroyed during the Arab invasion of 717-718. A provisional rammed earth church was built in 886 when count Wilfred the Hairy repopulated the area and restored the bishopric.

In the 10th century, with the Christian border more firmly stablished, the cathedral was rebuilt, this time of stone, and featuring three naves and two accompanying sister churches, devoted to the Saint Mary and Saint Michael.

Just a century later the cathedral was rebuilt again by bishop Abat Oliba in a monumental Romanesque style. It was consecrated in 1038 by Archbishop Wilfred of Narbonne. The bell tower, 46 meters high, was separated from the main building. From this period only the bell tower and the crypt have remain today. The crypt is notable for displaying preromanesque style capitals that were probably sourced from the 10th century temple. In addition, in the Episcopal Museum of Vic, there are some reliefs with figures from the Romanesque portal and capitals from the cloister, of great sculptural quality.

Two hundred years later, Ramon d'Anglesola wrote a pastoral letter urging the faithful to contribute to the repair of the building. The cathedral did not experience a Gothic style reconstruction like most other European cathedrals, but it got its upper cloister, started in 1318, and main alabaster altarpiece, finished by Pere Oller in 1428. Both works can still be witnessed today in the building. In 1401 Bishop Diego de Heredia added a transept, and in 1585 the door of Saint John opened on its northern side.

Built as a sister church of the cathedral, the atypical round temple was a prominent feature for many centuries. By instance, the bishops celebrated the first Christmas Mass at Santa Maria and the third at St. Peter's. The church, like the cathedral, had many reconstructions, but the final one was performed by the canon Guillem Bonfil in 1140, and was consecrated forty years later by the bishop Pere de Redorta. It was demolished in 1787 to make room for the new cathedral. It was in the present Square of the Cathedral, in front of the façade: on the pavement one can see the marks of its location, finally stablished as a result of recent excavations that left the foundations in the open.

The first stone of the new church was laid on September 24, 1781, and was consecrated on September 15, 1803. The project is the work of the Vic-born architect Josep Moretó i Codina, in academic neoclassical style.

In 1891, the Episcopal Museum of Vic opened on the upper floor of the cathedral's cloister.

After a tumultuous 19th century that left the cathedral severely impoverished, in the 20th century, Josep Maria Sert was commissioned to decorate the bare walls and ceilings of the interior. Sert finished the paintings on all the walls in 1930 and, in 1931, the cathedral was declared Historic Artistic Monument. Shortly after, at the start of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, the cathedral was burned down by revolutionary mobs and most of the vaulting collapsed. Just after the war the repair works of the cathedral began, the crypt was rediscovered, and an ambulatory built. Josep Maria Sert re-painted the walls. The temple reopened in 1945.

Nobody knows for sure where the primitive paleochristian and later visigothic basilica once stood, but a cathedral in Vic appears documented at least from the year 516. It was most likely destroyed during the Arab invasion of 717-718. A provisional rammed earth church was built in 886 when count Wilfred the Hairy repopulated the area and restored the bishopric.

In the 10th century, with the Christian border more firmly stablished, the cathedral was rebuilt, this time of stone, and featuring three naves and two accompanying sister churches, devoted to the Saint Mary and Saint Michael.

Just a century later the cathedral was rebuilt again by bishop Abat Oliba in a monumental Romanesque style. It was consecrated in 1038 by Archbishop Wilfred of Narbonne. The bell tower, 46 meters high, was separated from the main building. From this period only the bell tower and the crypt have remain today. The crypt is notable for displaying preromanesque style capitals that were probably sourced from the 10th century temple. In addition, in the Episcopal Museum of Vic, there are some reliefs with figures from the Romanesque portal and capitals from the cloister, of great sculptural quality.

Two hundred years later, Ramon d'Anglesola wrote a pastoral letter urging the faithful to contribute to the repair of the building. The cathedral did not experience a Gothic style reconstruction like most other European cathedrals, but it got its upper cloister, started in 1318, and main alabaster altarpiece, finished by Pere Oller in 1428. Both works can still be witnessed today in the building. In 1401 Bishop Diego de Heredia added a transept, and in 1585 the door of Saint John opened on its northern side.

Built as a sister church of the cathedral, the atypical round temple was a prominent feature for many centuries. By instance, the bishops celebrated the first Christmas Mass at Santa Maria and the third at St. Peter's. The church, like the cathedral, had many reconstructions, but the final one was performed by the canon Guillem Bonfil in 1140, and was consecrated forty years later by the bishop Pere de Redorta. It was demolished in 1787 to make room for the new cathedral. It was in the present Square of the Cathedral, in front of the façade: on the pavement one can see the marks of its location, finally stablished as a result of recent excavations that left the foundations in the open.

The first stone of the new church was laid on September 24, 1781, and was consecrated on September 15, 1803. The project is the work of the Vic-born architect Josep Moretó i Codina, in academic neoclassical style.

In 1891, the Episcopal Museum of Vic opened on the upper floor of the cathedral's cloister.

After a tumultuous 19th century that left the cathedral severely impoverished, in the 20th century, Josep Maria Sert was commissioned to decorate the bare walls and ceilings of the interior. Sert finished the paintings on all the walls in 1930 and, in 1931, the cathedral was declared Historic Artistic Monument. Shortly after, at the start of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, the cathedral was burned down by revolutionary mobs and most of the vaulting collapsed. Just after the war the repair works of the cathedral began, the crypt was rediscovered, and an ambulatory built. Josep Maria Sert re-painted the walls. The temple reopened in 1945.

It is a building of a severe and cold neoclassical style, excessively academic. It combines Doric and Tuscan styles, with a white stone facade enriched with a balustrade. The facade of the cathedral dates from the remodeling of 1803, in a neoclassical style. On the upper part there is a central rosette, decorated with Romanesque archivolts that are used by the old cathedral, and flanked by two windows. It has three entrances, corresponding to the three naves. The central nave facade is the most ornate, with pilasters and pediment, and the sculpture of Saint Peter, patron saint of the temple.

In general, the work is not well regarded by scholars, who consider it disproportioned. The architectural ornamentation is poor and routine, as well as contradicting some principles of the application of classical orders.

The interior consists of three naves of the same height, separated by Corinthian pilasters (with clearly disproportionate dimensions between the architrave shards and the set of capitals and pillars), a pronounced transept, a semicircular vault deck and a dome in the cruise, and the polygonal apse. The side naves have series of two chapels under each round of vaults.