Basílica de Santa Maria del Mar
Basílica de Santa Maria del Mar rises in Barcelona’s Ribera quarter, surrounded by narrow streets near the former port. Its west façade faces Plaça de Santa Maria, where a large rose window crowns the entrance. Statues of Saint Peter and Saint Paul stand beside the doorway, beneath a tympanum showing the Saviour, Mary, and Saint John.
Construction ran from 1329 to 1383, led by Berenguer de Montagut and Ramon Despuig with support from local residents and guilds. Catalan Gothic design gives the interior three aisles, slender octagonal columns, and a ribbed vault without transepts. Tall windows fill the unified space with daylight, while the columns stand about thirteen metres apart. Fire, earthquake damage, and the eleven-day blaze of 1936 altered its decoration, leaving the church almost free of imagery.
The original rose window fell in the 1428 Catalan earthquake and returned in Flamboyant style by 1459. One tower dates from 1496, while its counterpart reached completion in 1902. The church measures one hundred medieval feet across, matching its maximum height.
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