1
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So, here we are, Santa Maria del Mar,&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;
built between 1329 and 1383.

2
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This is really one of my favourite buildings.

3
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I love walking in and this incredible sensation of space, created&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;
 by the slenderness of the columns and the height of the vaults. 

4
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You can imagine how this must have seemed, back in&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;
the 14th century, walking into a building like this.

5
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It's certainly uplifting. Let's have a look inside!

6
00:00:36,597 --> 00:00:38,421
So how high is the ceiling?

7
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At their highest points the vaults reach 32 metres,&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;
which coincidentally is the width of the church as well.

8
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It's quite a unique design, in fact, due to&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;
its simplicity and proportions. 

9
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The separation between the pillars is an amazing 15 metres,

10
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which is the greatest separation between&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;
pillars in gothic architecture.

11
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Yes, it is very plain, isn't it?

12
00:01:13,510 --> 00:01:17,926
I mean, there's not a lot of ornamentation, ... of decoration.

13
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Yes, that's right.

14
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I think that's part of the impact when you walk inside. 

15
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On the outside it's quite severe and unadorned.&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;
There's no buttressing.

16
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The walls drop straight down to the ground.

17
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Early on in its history it was partially damaged by&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;
an earthquake and then by various fires,

18
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the last one being in 1936, during anticlerical&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;
 disturbances when the Baroque retable

19
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or altarpiece, was destroyed.

20
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Actually, there was quite a successful historical thriller&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;
written about the construction of this church,

21
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"Cathedral of the Sea", have you heard of that? 

22
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No.

23
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Oh yeah. Who was that by?

24
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It was by the writer Ildefonso Falcones. He's from Barcelona.

25
00:02:07,279 --> 00:02:10,806
And who designed the cathedral? Who's this by? 

26
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Well, the two architects in charge of the project were&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;
Berenguer de Montagut and Ramon Despuig.

27
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And they worked closely with the guilds of the Ribera quarter. 

28
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That's the name of this quarter, where we are now, the Ribera.

29
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OK?