Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TOP SIGHT
BASÍLICA DE SANTA MARIA DEL MAR
At the southwest end of Passeig del Born stands the apse of Barcelona's
finest Catalan Gothic church, Santa Maria del Mar (Our Lady of the Sea). Built
in the 14th century with record-breaking alacrity for the time (it took just 54
years), the church is remarkable for its architectural harmony and simplicity.
Krzysztof Dydynski / Getty IMAGES ©
The People's Church
Its construction started in 1329, with Berenguer de Montagut and Ramon Despuig as the ar-
chitects in charge. During construction the city's porters
(bastaixos)
spent a day each
week carrying on their backs the stone required to build the church from royal quarries in
Montjuïc. Their memory lives on in reliefs of them in the main doors and stone carvings
elsewhere in the church. The walls, the side chapels and the facades were finished by 1350,
and the entire structure was completed in 1383.
The Interior
