After receiving
many royal donations, the rebuilding began in 1022 and regained
its original splendour shortly. The temple reached its period
of greatest glory under the reign of Sancho García
the Major, who introduced San Benito´s rule, based on
Cluny´s model. This was reflected in the hospitality
offered to pilgrims on their way to Santiago. Later, in the
12 C, the Cistercian reform was introduced.
San Salvador´s temple -a blend
of different architectural styles- had a great influence
on the later development of this type of constructions.
The oldest part of the temple which has come down to us
is the crypt, from the 11 C. The entrance to the crypt is
via an old Romanesque doorway. It has three naves with barrel
vaulting, supported by short columns that give the impression
of massive stone blocks due to their great size. The decoration
on the capitals is typical of the Romanesque.
The church, built in 1057, is divided
into three naves with semicircular apses of equal height
and linear configuration. The central nave, built in the
Cistercian style, supports a Gothic vaulting. On the left
side opens a Romanesque doorway from the 12 C, with plain
columns and a monogram of Christ on the spandrel wall. The
doorway called "spetiosa", created in the Navarrese
Romanesque style, is richly decorated with statues of great
size. The archivolts are made of red limestone whereas the
spandrels are of sandstone. Both elements show elaborated
carvings. The different materials point out that they come
from different doorways. Its interior houses the plain pantheon
of the Kings of Navarre, contained in a chapel closed by
a Gothic grill, and a retable of San Benito. On the northern
wall there is a beautiful carving of Christ from the late
16 C.
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