So, here we are, Santa Maria del Mar, built between 1329 and 1383.
This is really one of my favourite buildings.
I love walking in and this incredible sensation of space, created by the slenderness of the columns and the height of the vaults.
You can imagine how this must have seemed, back in the 14th century, walking into a building like this.
It's certainly uplifting. Let's have a look inside!
So how high is the ceiling?
At their highest points the vaults reach 32 metres, which coincidentally is the width of the church as well.
It's quite a unique design, in fact, due to its simplicity and proportions.
The separation between the pillars is an amazing 15 metres,
which is the greatest separation between pillars in gothic architecture.
Yes, it is very plain, isn't it?
I mean, there's not a lot of ornamentation, ... of decoration.
Yes, that's right.
I think that's part of the impact when you walk inside.
On the outside it's quite severe and unadorned. There's no buttressing.
The walls drop straight down to the ground.
Early on in its history it was partially damaged by an earthquake and then by various fires,
the last one being in 1936, during anticlerical disturbances when the Baroque retable
or altarpiece, was destroyed.
Actually, there was quite a successful historical thriller written about the construction of this church,
"Cathedral of the Sea", have you heard of that?
No.
Oh yeah. Who was that by?
It was by the writer Ildefonso Falcones. He's from Barcelona.
And who designed the cathedral? Who's this by?
Well, the two architects in charge of the project were Berenguer de Montagut and Ramon Despuig.
And they worked closely with the guilds of the Ribera quarter.
That's the name of this quarter, where we are now, the Ribera.
OK?