São Gião de Nazaré (Portugal). Un tipo original de iglesia

Abstract

The scientific importance of the Portuguese church of São Gião de Nazaré, considered one of the prototypes of 7th century Iberian Visigoth architecture, merited an archaeological analysis of its architecture in addition to the excavation of its cellars and prior to necessary restoration work on the building, which was on the brink of ruin. Readings discovered an original church with a nave with high rooms to the west and east, side rooms, iconostases and freestanding vaulted rectangular apse. The structure scarcely changed until its ruin and subsequent conversion into farm workers’ dwellings in the 18th century. The chronological ascription of the church, presently in doubt due to the problems concerning the architectural group traditionally called Visigoth, cannot be solved through the reading but can be enhanced by this as two different decorative groups are identified, one with reused pieces and the other with new sculptures. This deliberately sculpted decoration is now the chronological indicator to follow in dating the original church: for some, it is clearly Visigoth; for others, Asturian.