Artistic Heritage
Stained-glass windows, sculptures, devotional images… Santa Maria del Mar is home to a wealth of artistic works whose beauty and patrimonial value make every visit to the church an exceptional experience.
Rising behind the High Altar of Santa Maria del Mar are the galleries (tribunes), recently opened to the public following a restoration that has recovered their splendour. In addition to the privileged views they offer over the interior of the church, visitors may contemplate pictorial remains of great value and significant works of art on display.
Particularly noteworthy are the estípits from the former Baroque altarpiece lost in the fire of the Spanish Civil War, as well as the stained-glass windows depicting the Ascension of Christ and the Washing of the Apostles’ Feet—one of the few surviving fragments from the basilica’s foundational period and among the finest examples of stained-glass art in Barcelona.
The vast majority of the stained-glass windows of Santa Maria del Mar were destroyed in the fire of 1936. However, the Last Judgement (1474) and the Pentecost and the Last Supper (1711) have survived to the present day.
Particularly striking is the great rose window, dedicated to the Coronation of the Virgin and one of the basilica’s most iconic features. It had to be reconstructed after an earthquake in 1428 caused the collapse of the original. From the roof terraces, the cracks left by that earthquake may still be discerned.
The magnificent keystone bosses of the central nave—most of them depicting episodes from the life of the Virgin Mary—complete the iconographic programme of the great rose window and lend the church a distinctive touch of colour. Although they were repainted after the devastating effects of the fire during the Spanish Civil War, traces of earlier polychromy have been discovered here and in other areas of the church, suggesting that the building may have originally featured painted decoration at the time of its construction. A true feast for the senses.
The recent restoration of the Chapel of Saint Ignatius of Loyola at Santa Maria del Mar offers a space for contemplation in the very place where Ignatius of Loyola, during his longest stay in Barcelona (1524–1526), begged for alms to distribute among those most in need.
The chapel houses a sculpture of the saint by Lau Feliu Maspons, a small altar, and two devotional images—the Holy Cross of Manresa and Our Lady of Arantzazu—both associated with the saint’s spiritual experience.
