15 February 2012

Global Seminars & Invited Speaker Series

PAMPLONA AND SAN SATURNINO

Saint Sernin de Toulouse

D. Emilio Quintanilla Martínez.
Chair of Navarrese Heritage and Art

The church of Saint-Sernin of Toulouse, Saint Saturnin of Toulouse, is an impressive Romanesque monument whose construction is linked to the place where the martyred bishop of Toulouse, Saint Saturnin, was buried in the middle of the 3rd century.

A canonical community dedicated to the cult of the sepulchre of Saint Saturninus and the numerous relics that were accumulated was established there, which, together with the extraordinary increase in devotion, the massive influx of the faithful, the accumulated heritage and its status as a landmark on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela, allowed the canonical chapter of canons to build the monument, allowed the chapter of canons to build a magnificent Romanesque church whose first phase was already completed in 1096, so that Pope Urban II, on his way to the Council of Clermont-Ferrand, where he was to call the first Crusade, was able to consecrate the church and the altar carved by the master Gilduino, which is still preserved.
The church established model as a pilgrimage church with an ambulatory, so often used later on.

The importance of this church, whose current appearance is due to the restorations carried out in the 19th century by Viollet-le-Duc, is due, of course, to its monumentality, the quality of its sculptures and mural paintings, the richness of its reliquary and the elegance of its dome, but, above all, because it marks certain characteristics of its style that should serve as guide when thinking about and judging Romanesque buildings.

The height and luminosity of its naves should definitively make us forget the concept of darkness and solid appearance with which we normally associate Romanesque architecture, the beautiful chromatic contrasts of white stone and brick, and the mural paintings, should outweigh the Romanesque vision of bare, hard, rough stone, when not covered with ivy; and, in short, they should convey a solemn, rich and balanced style.
 

Saint Saturnin of Toulousse. Exterior of the apse

Saint Saturnin of Toulousse. Inside