Collegiate Church of Santa María la Mayor

The Collegiate Church of Santa María la Mayor was built on the plan of a medieval building at the beginning of the 16th century, and finished around 1540, according to documentation collected by the Junta de Castilla y León. Shortly before, at the end of the 15th century, the city of Medinaceli had around twelve Romanesque parishes around which the activity was articulated, once the period of reconquest was over. It was the Duke who asked the Vatican to unify all of them into one, that of Santa Maria. It is a late Gothic building erected on the site of a Romanesque church dedicated to Santa Maria, of which only the crypt under the main altar remains. It is accessed through its two doors; the first, from the 19th century, faces south, and is sheltered by a portico of three semicircular arches. The other, called Puerta del Carmen, is simpler and faces north. A body advanced on the plane of the wall opens the north door, also called Puerta del Carmen. A double rounded mural arch sheltering the oculus completes the ornamentation of the doorway consisting of a double rounded mural arch and several pilasters topped with pyramids and balls, typical of the late Gothic style. In its interior, the gothic Rejería (1634), that serves to close the Choir and the Main Chapel, and that also keeps the very beautiful wood carving of the Santísimo Cristo de Medinaceli, donated in the XVI century by the dukes, stands out. The Collegiate Church is currently completing a work of restoration and waterproofing of the roof, and will soon reopen its doors to the faithful and visitors. The opening hours are Saturdays and Sundays from 11.00 to 14.00h and from 16.00 to 19.00h, and Mondays from 11.00 to 14.00h. During Holy Week, from April 9 to 18, every day during the weekend.