Romanesque heritage
The artistic richness in Val d’Aran is one of the best kept treasures of the Pyrenees. Protecting itself during centuries, this valley has left us a complete and diverse artistic heritage. Complete because it has magnificent stylistic examples from all time periods; diverse because Aranes artistic production is extended throughout all the genres and disciplines (architecture, painting and sculpture, wood and stone) each one of them sometimes executed with exquisite skill and others with a charming naïveté.
The view of a natural landscape sown with the historic remains of prehistoric cultures, those of the Romans and later of the Christians converts the entire valley into an art and history museum, a must-see, which the visitor has the opportunity to visit following the Romanesque Route of Aran.
From the end of the XI century and especially during the XII and XIII centuries, thanks to a favourable economic situation, a great number of churches and chapels were built. Despite an often late dating, the large majority of these structures still show the architectural tradition of the first Romanesque style.
The coarseness and ingenuity of the sculpture on stone highly contrasts with the exceptional quality of the works carved on wood, among them stand out the impressive busts of the Christ of Mijaran and the Christ of Salardú, which are very similar stylistically speaking. Besides the interesting polychromy that covers these wooden sculptures and the altarpieces, the pictorial art is especially evident on the walls of the churches which are painted with surprising and emotive scenes of Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance styles.
Century after century, contributions from all the periods have been enriching this legacy, thus giving the old buildings a narrative value that, as if in a book, allows the visitor to discover in essence the history of Val d’Aran.
- Sta. Maria d’Arties
Declared National Place of Cultural Interest, apart from its Romanesque architecture, the church keeps inside a rich number of mural Renaissance paintings (16th c.), Gothic style altarpieces, Baroques and diverse religious images from the 13th c. to the 18th c. - Sta. Maria de Cap d’Aran
The importance of the ancient Marian sanctuary is evident in the dimensions of the Romanesque building, fitted with a small crypt and built in successive stages that chronologically go from the 11th c. to the beginning of the 13th c. Some projections allow for the recovery of magnificent Romanesque paintings which decorated the church in past times. - St. Pèir d’Escunhau
Both the rich and surprising façade dominated by the monogram of Christ and the Crucified Christ and the baptismal font inside summarise perfectly the main motifs of the Aranes Romanesque sculpture. - St. Estèue de Betren
Built between the 13th-14th c., it comprises in a very harmonic way, two different stylistic languages: Romanesque and Gothic. The new concept prevails on the monumental façade with narrative representation. - Sta. Eulària d’Unha
It dates back to the 12th c. with Lombardy style in the apses. Inside, a surprising and diverse set of mural paintings will allow the visitor to discover the taste and the languages used in different periods, from the Romanesque style of the paintings on the main apse (middle of the 12th c.) to the Gothic and Renaissance style on the wall of the nave (15th-16th c.). - St. Andrèu de Casau
In spite of the transformations, the church maintains Romanesque and later elements of great interest such as the baptismal font, the holy water stoup, both with a figurative decoration, the Gothic virgin and a chasuble from the 16th c. - St. Fèlix de Vilac
It is a summary of several architectural styles: Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque. Standing out above all is the elegant Gothic bell tower. - St. Pèir de Betlan
Beyond the austerity and simplicity of the Romanesque walls, this small church possesses the polychrome sculpture of the Virgin of the Snows, an altar base and a beautiful Romanesque font. - St. Estèue de Montcorbau
Its baptismal font, carefully worked, tells us about the Roman origins of the church although it is the elegant Gothic apse which most stands out of its architecture. - Mair de Diu dera Purificacion de Bossòst
The stylistic unity of the building with a basilica-style ground plan, the two façades with decorated tympana, columns and capitals and the impressive bell tower convert the church into a magnificent example of the Romanesque style of Aran. - Sta. Maria de Vilamòs
The group of funeral steles from Roman times, built in the Romanesque walls of the church and the graceful tower, tell us about a more remote past than that of the church at the end of the 11th c. or the beginning of the 12th c. - St. Martin de Gausac
In this Gothic church, the visitor will discover some Romanesque style works which, possibly, befit a previous construction: the carved Christ in the narthex and especially the baptismal font, one of the best in Aran. - St. Andrèu de Salardú
In the transition from Romanesque to Gothic style, the church keeps the sculpture of the Christ of Salardú, masterpiece of the Romanesque making of religious images (12th c.). A magnificent pictorial Renaissance group from the 16th-17th c. decorates the inside. - St. Miquèu de Vielha
In this church the visitor can observe the Gothic altarpiece and especially the impressive Romanesque image of the Christ of Mijaran, work from the studio of Erill, which originally formed part of a monumental representation of the Descent from the Cross. The façade in the narthex, of Gothic style, placed under the beautiful and elegant bell tower is of great interest as well. - St. Blai de Les
The existence itself of the chapel, next to the Baronia de Les, raises multiple questions. It could be the apse of a building of bigger dimensions, unfinished or incomplete.