Interior view

The parish church of Santa Mar�a del Mar was considered the church of seafarers and merchants, who sailed the seven seas and conquered foreign lands under her patronage. The construction was begun in 1329 and the church was consecrated in 1384. The first architect was Berenguer de Montagut. He was succeeded by Ramon Despuig, then Guillem Metge, who died before the building was consecrated.

Like most churches of Catalan Gothic, the exterior of Santa Mar�a del Mar is compact and plain. The brick walls are articulated by only two off-sets and flying buttresses emerge from the heavy building only at the level of the upper story. Even the west front is sober, giving no indication that it conceals one of the grandest of Gothic interiors.

The interior is overwhelming, not least because of the striking contrast with the narrow alleys of the Barrio de la Ribera district of Barcelona where the church is located. Broad, harmonious proportions and subtle natural lighting lend the space an almost celestial sublimity. It is unadorned: plain octagonal piers support the vault, and the moldings are reduced to the minimum mass so that the architecture can speak for itself.

The simple ground plan follows the traditions of Catalonia and southern France: there is a nave and aisles, with no pronounced transept, and the aisles and the chapels between the piers are carried round the choir. The aisles reach almost the same height as the nave, and give the building the appearance of a hall church. Aesthetically, the highlight is the arrangement of piers and vaulting in the apse, which allows the sunlight in as if from Heaven.

The picture shows the nave.

View the ground plan of Santa Mar�a del Mar, Barcelona.