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I like Manresa, the capital of Bages, so much that I take photographs everywhere, like this one of the Collegiate Basilica of Santa María de la Aurora that I show in La Vanguardia's Readers' Photos. It's my favorite hobby!
La Seu is considered the most emblematic building of Manresan (and Catalan) Gothic, a city where we find other religious and civil constructions of interest.
The Collegiate Basilica of Santa María de la Aurora crowns the top of Puigcardener, the historic birthplace of Manresa, from where there are splendid views. This also makes the building easily recognizable from afar.
According to the Cultural Heritage of the Generalitat of Catalonia, "its elevated location successively housed an Iberian town, a Roman fortress and a Romanesque temple", while "the construction of the current building began in 1322 under the direction of the same architect of Santa Maria. del Mar, Berenguer de Montagut, and culminated at the end of the 15th century with Gothic as the prevailing style.
However, later interventions "make us also find Renaissance, Baroque or even Neo-Gothic elements, such as the façade of the Baptistery."
The most notable elements of the Seu are "the impressive rose window on the west façade, the bell and the crypt with a large marble tabernacle and eight baroque medallions." In addition, two towers stand out laterally: that of the chapel of the Santísimo and that of the baptistery, with an octagonal plan.
Inside "the pictorial collection draws attention, where the altarpiece of the Holy Spirit by master Pere Serra stands out, one of the most valuable of Catalan painting of the 14th century."
On the main façade of the building is the Historical Museum of La Seu, inaugurated in 1934, which exhibits a large sample of works of sacred art.
