Santa Cristina de Lena

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
  • Church of St. Christine of Lena
  • Pre-Romanesque
Groundbreaking7th century
Completed852
Specifications
Direction of façadeNE
Length16 metres (52 ft)
Width12 metres (39 ft)
Europe and North America
Official name: Ermita de Santa Cristina
TypeNon-movable
CriteriaMonument
Designated24 August 1885
Reference no.RI-51-0000050

St Christine of Lena (

pre-Romanesque church located in the Lena municipality, about 25 km south of Oviedo, Spain, on an old Roman road that joined the lands of the plateau with Asturias.[1]

Description

The church has a different ground plan to Pre-Romanesque's traditional basilica. It is a single rectangular space with a barrel vault, with four adjoining structures located in the centre of each facade. The first of these annexes is the typical Asturian Pre-Romanesque vestibule, with a royal tribune on the upper part, accessed via a stairway joined to one of the walls. To the east is the enclosure with the altar, with a single apse, foregoing the traditional Asturian pre-romanesque triple apse, and going back to Visigoth influences. To the north and south respectively, there are two other enclosures through semicircular arches and barrel vaults, whose use was associated with the Hispano-

Visigothic liturgy practised in Spain up to the 11th century.[2][3]

One of the most particular elements of Santa Cristina de Lena is the existence of the

presbytery elevated above floor level in the last section of the central nave, separated from the area intended for the congregation by three arches on marble columns. This separation, which appears in other Asturian churches, is not repeated in any other with a similar structure. Both the lattices over the arches and the wall enclosing the central arch were re-used from Visigothic origins in the 7th century.[4]

Gallery

  • View from the outside
    View from the outside
  • View from the outside
    View from the outside
  • Nave and chapel
    Nave and chapel
  • Floor map of the church
    Floor map of the church

See also

References

  1. ^ Fergusson, James (1867). "Book VII: Spanish and Portugal". A history of architecture in all countries. Vol. 2. John Murray. pp. 123–124.
  2. ISBN 0-313-31963-4
    .
  3. ISBN 0-300-05298-7
    .
  4. ISBN 978-84-604-1916-7
    . Retrieved 2009-05-31.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Church of Santa Cristina de Lena.
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