The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Antoninus () is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

located in

Palencia Palencia () is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Palencia. Located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, in the northern half of ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. It is dedicated to Saint Antoninus of Pamiers.

History

The cathedral was built from 1172 to 1504 stands over a low-vaulted

Visigothic The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied barbarian military group united under the comman ...

crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...

(the Crypt of San Antolín). In front of the Proto- Romanesque temple is the old

chapel from the mid-7th century, built during the reign of Wamba to preserve the remains of the martyr Saint Antoninus of Pamiers, a Visigothic-Gallic nobleman brought from Narbonne to Visigothic Hispania in 672 or 673 by Wamba himself. These are the only remains of the Visigothic cathedral of Palencia. Its more than 130 metres long, 42 metres high and 50 metres wide at the centre, making it one of the largest cathedrals in Spain and Europe. Just by way of comparison, the internal length of the Cathedral of Reims, reaches 138m, in turn, the height of the central nave, reaches 33m in Notre Dame de Paris; Reims 38m, 42m in Notre-Dame d'Amiens and 48m in Saint-Pierre de Beauvais, the highest of all Gothic cathedrals. Its solid, simple and austere exterior does not reflect the grandeur of its interior, with more than twenty chapels of great artistic and historical interest. The most recognizable feature on the outside is the tower, of 55 meters of height, solid and a little rough in its Gothic style. Recent studies and excavations show that it was a military tower, and after serving this function, pinnacles and cattail were added as the sole decoration. It is a large Gothic building, popularly dubbed as "the unknown beauty" because it is not as well known as other Spanish cathedrals, though it is a valuable building which has in its interior works of art of great value, including

El Greco Doménikos Theotokópoulos (, ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco (; "The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance, regarded as one of the greatest artists of all time. ...

's painting ''The Martyrdom of'' ''Saint Sebastian'' (1576–1579) and a ''

retablo A retablo is a devotional painting, especially a small popular or folk art one using iconography derived from traditional Catholic church art. More generally ''retablo'' is also the Spanish term for a retable or reredos above an altar, whether ...

'' of twelve panels by

Juan de Flandes ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of '' John''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Phili ...

, court painter to Queen

Isabella I of Castile Isabella I (; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''Isabel la Católica''), was Queen of Castile and List of Leonese monarchs, León from 1474 until her death in 1504. She was also Queen of Aragon ...

Gallery

Palencia Cathedral 2023 - West Façade 1.jpg, West Façade Palencia Cathedral 2023 - Crypt.jpg, Crypt of Saint Antoninus Palencia Cathedral 2023 - Apse.jpg, Apse Palencia Cathedral 2023 - Nave.jpg, Interior and retrochoir Palencia Cathedral 2023 - Cloister.jpg, Cloister El martirio de San Sebastián, de El Greco (Catedral de Palencia).jpg, ''The Martyrdom of'' ''Saint Sebastian'' by

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Catálogo monumental de Castilla y León. Bienes inmuebles declarados. Vol I. Junta de Castilla y León, 1995. * Martínez González, Rafael A. ''Catedrales de Castilla y León. Catedral de Palencia''. Editorial Edilesa, 2002. * * Sancho Campo, Ángel. ''La Catedral de Palencia: un lecho de catedrales''. León: Edilesa, 1996. * Sancho Campo, Ángel. ''La Catedral de Palencia: guía breve''. León: Edilesa, 2005. * Martínez González, Rafael A., "La catedral de Palencia. Historia y arquitectura", Palencia, 1988, *CALLE CALLE, Francisco Vicente: ''Las gárgolas de la Catedral de San Antolín de Palencia'', www.bubok.com, 2008. Roman Catholic cathedrals in Castile and León Churches in Castile and León Palencia Burial sites of the Castilian House of Burgundy Roman Catholic churches completed in 1504 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Spain {{Spain-RC-cathedral-stub

History

Gallery

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography