Santa Maria del Mar

Santa Maria del Mar
1329-1384
Presented by Melissa Trueblood

The Church of Saint Mary of the Sea is located in Placa de Santa Maria. The site location was just outside of the 1st-4th century Roman walls. At that time it was on the water’s edge. Santa Maria del Mar was build for and by the major seafarers with the money that they accrued from their oversea ventures. On July 18, 1936, nearly all of Barcelona’s churches were set on fire as retaliation against the alliance of army, church, and oligarchy. This rebellion let Spain into a civil war, as well as, left Santa Maria del Mar in its present state after burning for 11 days. The interior was stripped of its ornate side chapels, organ, and choir stalls. It was then restored at the end of the Spanish Civil War by a group of Bauhaus-trained architects, whom understood the original design. The church is not obnoxiously overdone, and with the help of the fire, the current state of the interior is fairly simple and clean. The symmetry found in the details of the construction includes the medieval numerological symbol of the Virgin Mary, the number 8. For instance, 16 octagonal pillars, rib vaulting arches at a height of 16 meters, and the keystones at the apex of the arches are 32 meters from the floor. The exterior details include a dominant, strong, yet sober shell.