Santa María del Mar Church

It is the most emblematic and purest example of the Catalonian Gothic style. Since the XIII Century, the relevance of the district of La Rivera as meeting point of merchants and shipowners made necessary the construction of a great church replacing the former parish church of Las Arenas.

It has three facades: the main one in the square of Santa María, the second one in Santa María Street, and the last one in the Paseo del Born. All of them show the essence of the Catalonian Gothic style: octagonal towers, the presence of naked surfaces and solid buttresses.

The main facade is decorated with sculptures of St Pedro and St Pablo, with an unsurpassable rose window in a flamboyant Gothic style from the XV Century. In the façade of Santa María Street, the gargoyles of the buttresses, the stained glass windows back and, especially, its monumental dimensions should be highlighted.

Inside, it continues being an example of the Catalonian Gothic style due to its wide range of elements and its sober decoration. It has three high naves that are separated by high columns. In order to harmonize the complex, the side naves are half higher than the central nave and the total width of the complex fits in with the height of the side naves. Its rich decoration was destroyed after the riots of 1936, although several headstones related to the sea world have arrived to our days.