Cathedral of Santa María de La Redonda

The Cathedral of Santa María de La Redonda was built over a former Romanesque temple from the 12 C. In the year 1453 it was promoted to Collegiate Church, after it incorporated the church of San Martín de Albelda which provided the temple with much more space. Santa María La Redonda has been restored many times over the centuries: in the first third of the 16 C, in the 18 C, and at the end of the 20 C.

It was declared "insigne" by one of Pope Benedicto XIII´s bulls, dated to 1727, and in August of 1959 it became Cathedral. The towers were built in the 18 C. They consist of a smooth-ornamented shaft with quadrangular section and round corners. Above it is a belvedere with Tuscan pilasters and blind balustrade.

The tower is surmounted by an octagonal bell colt that contains semicircular windows and oculi. A spire with two levels crowns the construction. The main doorway is worthy of note. It has a large stone retable, enclosed by a grille that originally belonged to Santo Cristo´s chapel.

It is bordered by slender Corinthian columns, and was inspired by the façades of the churches of San María de Viana and San Esteban Protomártir, at Murillo de Río Leza. It has three bodies and seven vertical panels and is covered by a barrel vault that contains the reliefs of the four Apostles, four Angels and the Padre Eterno. The images are related to the alabaster figures located on the sides of the back of the choir. The work is surmounted by a broken pediment with volutes that join the elements on the façade to a San Miguel on the centre.

The side doorways were built around 1705. They were created as small stone retables. The doorway next to the Gospel side is dedicated to San Martín, and the one next to the epistle is dedicated to the Annunciation of the Virgin.

In its interior there are interesting elements, such as: the choir stalls that include 24 high and 22 low stalls, structured by Tuscan fluted pilasters; the major retable, from the 17 C, that stands on a half-shaft bossage. It is made up of one horizontal panel and one body with three vertical panels and six spiral columns and as attic in the manner of a portal. The retable is crowned by a bent pediment. With respect to iconography, there is an interesting image of Jose´s Tree, where the patroness Virgin stands on a pedestal.

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