Santa Maria del Mar
In Santa Maria del Mar, Barcelona once raised an outstanding example of Catalan Gothic, commissioned at the height of the Principality of Catalonia’s maritime and mercantile power. The first reference to a church “by the sea” goes back to 998, but the present building began much later: on 25 March 1329, the foundation stone was laid, and the work was promoted by the canon Bernat Llull, appointed archdean in 1324. The architects overseeing construction were Berenguer de Montagut and Ramon Despuig, and by 1350 the walls, side chapels, and façades were completed. Catastrophe repeatedly tested the church—an earthquake in 1428 destroyed the west rose window, which was later rebuilt in the Flamboyant style and completed by 1459. Even more severe was 1936, when anti-clerical rioters set a fire that destroyed much of the decorative program; the church survived while burning for 11 days, and renovations had to wait until after 1938. …
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