Catedral de Santiago de Compostela

The cathedral of Santiago grew over the site associated with the tomb of the apostle James and became the destination of one of Europe’s great pilgrimage routes. The Romanesque building begun in the eleventh century was expanded and transformed over centuries, so the present ensemble overlays very different architectural and artistic languages.

In the last third of the twelfth century, Master Mateo was commissioned to complete the western end. His project integrated architecture, sculpture and ceremony: the Pórtico da Gloria, crypt, tribune, façade and stone choir formed part of a single spatial conception.

The cathedral is not a static monument. Baroque alterations, restorations, liturgical changes, excavations and conservation campaigns have changed both its appearance and our understanding of it. This long history allows the building to be read as a palimpsest in which each period left a layer.