San Baudelio
Berlanga, Spain
The Church of San Baudelio was built in the early twelfth century at the crossroad of Islamic and Christian territory on the Iberian Peninsula. In typical Mozarabic fashion, this Christian sanctuary integrates Islamic architectural elements and decorative motifs into its design and ornamentation. It is specifically renowned for its mural frescoes, many of which are exhibited in museums around the world, including the Prado in Madrid, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and the Museum of Fine arts in Boston.

The church is rectangular in plan, measuring eight and a half by seven and a half meters. It features a very simple, unadorned masonry exterior with walls more than a meter thick. Inside, a single column rising into a domical, palm-like vault with eight brackets supports a hipped roof. The apse of the church is framed by a horseshoe arch illuminated by one narrow window. At the other rear of the sanctuary, a two-bay deep enclosed portico with horseshoe arches supports a gallery overlooking the nave. The gallery was accessed from the nave staircase to the side, which is blocked by a brick wall today. It was also accessed from outside by a door at the top of the stairs, which has since been filled.

By the end of the thirteenth century, the church had undergone two cycles of painting, leaving its interior surfaces completely adorned with frescoes. Some of these murals depict the life of Christ while others feature animals, such as the camel, and scenes of hunting, influenced by popular themes and motifs during the tenth century Umayyad caliphate.

Sources:

Goodwin, Godfrey. 1990. Islamic Spain. London: Penguin Group, 121.

Robertson, Ian. 1980. Blue Guide Spain: The Mainland. London and Tonbridge: Ernest Benn Limited, 341.

"Iberian Peninsula, 1000 - 1400 A.D.: The Temptation of Christ". Metropolitan Museum of Art Website. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/rmsq/hod_61.248.htm [Accessed August 25, 2004]

"Iberian Peninsula, 1000 - 1400 A.D.: Wall Painting of a Camel". Metropolitan Museum of Art Website. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/07/eusi/hod_61.219.htm [Accessed August 25, 2004]

"Mozarabic art." 2004. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. http://search.eb.com/eb/article?tocId=9054085 [Accessed August 25, 2004]

"San Baudelio (Berlanga de Duero.- Soria)". Arrakis Website. http://www.arrakis.es/~jalp/baudelio.htm [Accessed August 25, 2004]

"San Baudelio de Berlanga (Soria)". CNICE Website. http://centros5.pntic.mec.es/ies.juana.de.castilla/baudelio.htm [Accessed August 25, 2004]
Location
Berlanga, Spain
Images & Videos
Events
12th c.
Style Periods
500-1500
Variant Names
San Baudelio Church
Variant
San Baudelio de Berlanga
Variant
Building Usages
religious