La Seo Cathedral - Architectural Styles

Architectural Styles

La Seo was built on the site of the ancient Roman forum of Augustus and of the main mosque of the Moorish city of Saraqusta, elements of whose minaret form part of the current tower. The construction began in the 12th century in the Romanesque style, and underwent many alterations and expansions until 1704, when the Baroque spire completed the tower.

The cathedral is a mixture of styles, from the Romanesque apse (12th century) to the Baroque tower and Neo-Classical main door (18th century), passing through Mudéjar and Gothic. Of the diverse styles that make up La Seo Cathedral, the most important elements are:

• Romanesque: in the exterior and the lower part of the apse. The Roman interior of the apse still remains, but is now covered by the Gothic altarpiece. In the sacristy are the "olifante" by Gaston IV of Béarn, built in ivory in the 11th century, and the relic-busts of Valerius of Saragossa (patron saint of Zaragoza), Saint Vincent of Saragossa, and St. Lawrence donated by the antipope Benedict XIII.
• Gothic: mixed with Mudéjar, especially in the upper part of the exterior of the apse. The three central naves with their arches and tracery. Magnificent altarpiece largely of painted alabaster made by Pere Johan and Hans de Suabia. Choir stalls. Museum of flamenco tapestries from the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries, one of the three largest such collections in the world.
• Mudéjar: exterior wall of the Parish of San Miguel and its interior roof, gilded with wood. The Aragonese Mudéjar has been named a World Heritage Site.
• Renaissance: In the Parroquieta of San Miguel, the tomb of the archbishop Don López Fernández de Luna from the 16th century. Dome with Mudéjar influences, built in the first third of the 16th century to replace the older Moorish dome.
• Baroque: Tower and gate.

The cathedral's museum is currently (as of 2006) being restored and is closed to the public.