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BOFILL, Guillem - b. 0 ?, d. 1427 Girona - WGA

BOFILL, Guillem

(b. 0 ?, d. 1427 Girona)

Catalan architect. He began working as a stonemason in the works of the church of Sant Feliu in Girona (1381-83), later moving to the Cathedral of Girona, where in 1404 he was appointed master builder. In 1416 he was promoted, supported by the bishop Dalmau de Mur, to the board of architects that had to decide the way to continue the works. Here he imposed his criterion of doing so with a single nave that would increase the height of the nave extraordinarily. His project was approved in 1417. The works continued under his direction until 1427, probably the date of his death.

Interior view
Interior view by

Interior view

The cathedral chapter of Girona had decided in 1312 to add to the Romanesque building a new choir with a naturally lit ambulatory and nine polygonal chapels. Though the chancel was largely completed by the middle of the century, only a few lateral chapels were constructed in the nave. After a long debate, in 1417 the decision was taken to build an aisleless church. The architect Guillem Bofill constructed Gothic architecture’s largest vault, with a height of 34 metres and a span of 23 metres. The building was completed only in 1604.

In terms of structural engineering, the church represents the perfection of a type in which the thrust of the vault is absorbed by buttresses incorporated into the interior, which leave space for chapels in between.

The picture shows the nave (begun 1417) and the choir (mid-14th century).

View the ground plan of Girona Cathedral.

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