An underappreciated façade

Even today there are still many who disparage the facade of the cathedral, comparing it to the interior of the temple and its Gothic cloister, and lamenting the destruction of the primitive Romanesque façade. The famous Victor Hugo described it as a "horrible mask" and the bell towers as "donkey's ears" (1843). Pedro de Madrazo spoke of it as an "enormous mass of that insipid architecture that was decorated with the pompous name of Greco-Roman. For having employee in it a single class of stone, almost yellow, is of an unbearable effect" (1886). Although during the 19th century there were those who judged it "beautiful" and "majestic", we have to wait for the next century to see its just evaluation. According to Yárnoz, "time has finally consecrated it, giving it the value and esteem it deserves" (1944), as in fact all art historians have confirmed by contextualizing it in the historical and artistic moment in which it was conceived. Recently, attention has been drawn to its increasing deterioration -as can be seen in this image of the tops of the towers- and the need for its restoration.