The Cathedral

The crypt of the cathedral, characterized by being uncovered. Above it, the altar, elevated by three semicircular arches. The division of the naves is produced by cruciform pillars on which the groin vaults of the lateral naves and the pointed barrel vault of the central nave rest. The floor has different levels due to the presence of a tribune, the accesses to the crypt and the presence of the same in the chancel. The apses are covered by pointed barrel vaults in the presbytery, and quarter sphere vaults in the central nave, which, although hidden by the baroque altarpiece, can be seen surrounding it. Three crypts at different levels are under the chancel. The central crypt, or Crypt of San Ramón is the most complex and ample, since it consists of three naves with semicircular chancel, being its main peculiarity the fact that the crypt is uncovered and almost at the same level as the central nave, which made it necessary to raise the altar. This was due to the difficulty to excavate it in the rock on which the complex is built. A crypt has recently been discovered in the south apse and the one on the north side, known as the Archive and Treasure Room, has Romanesque mural paintings. The interior of the cathedral and the movable goods that they guard are the great attraction of this building. In the north crypt, under the sacristy, known as the Treasure Room or Archive, the remains of San Valero rest in an enameled chest from the 16th century. The Master of Navasa decorated the walls of this space in the 13th century with paintings referring to St. Valero and Christ, such as his baptism by St. John or St. Michael weighing souls. The pictorial cycle is completed with a menological calendar. The central crypt houses the sarcophagus of San Ramón, the best preserved example of Romanesque funerary sculpture in Aragon. The sarcophagus rests on four carvings representing the Evangelists together with scenes from the infancy of Jesus and the figure of San Ramón. In this cathedral lie the remains of seven other bishops and houses important movable property, including a seventeenth-century organ and the main altar, decorated with carvings by the sculptor Gabriel Yoli. The cloister presents engravings in the arches and lateral walls that make reference to the most influential personages of the Church. In the chapel of San Agustín you can also admire in its walls Romanesque paintings representing Christ in Majesty surrounded by the Tetramorphos and the saints Ambrosio and Agustín. In the cathedral of Roda has been preserved for centuries the oldest version of the so-called Chronicle of Alfonso III called for this reason Chronicle Rotense. This chronicle was written between the second half of the 10th century and the 11th century, apparently in the monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla, and after being unknown for a long time, it reappeared in a private library in 1927.