Santa Maria de Arties

The Church of Santa Maria de Arties, in Romanesque style, was built between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. It is part of a larger ensemble formed by the church itself and the remains of the Entresanaigües castle. This castle is documented from the XIII century, and throughout its history lived several battles. Those of the War of the Reapers, in the seventeenth century, almost completely destroyed the castle. Today only a section of the wall and several towers that were recovered in archaeological excavations remain. The Church of Santa Maria de Arties has a basilica plan with three naves. The apse of the central nave was destroyed in the 17th century to build a sacristy in its place. Its present appearance is due to a recent reconstruction. In the apses you will find different decorative elements with chesswork motifs and blind arches. In addition, above the central apse there are three openings to let light into the church. The whole is composed of a large central oculus that illuminates the central nave, and two smaller ones that were walled up. The main doorway, on the north façade, is most spectacular. It lacks tympanum and has seven semicircular archivolts in degradation. Its decoration is very simple, based on geometric motifs such as hemispheres and checkerboards. It also has two corbels with human faces on which the dust cap rests. The second doorway, on the south side, is smaller and communicates with the cemetery.