Segovia Cathedral

The main altarpiece of the cathedral of Segovia, which occupies the High Altar, is a set of marbles of different colors and bronzes that recreate a neoclassical structure.

In the superior part of the altarpiece, on the cornice two seated images in white color, of San Valentín and Santa Engracia with the palms of martyrdom, and in the center of the pediment the anagram of the Virgin.

The grilles that close the High Altar are baroque, work of Antonio de Elorza (1736) and were gilded by Miguel and José Borbúa of Segovia.

The space between the choir and the main chapel is called “Via Sacra”, in it there are several burials of bishops and a marble pulpit with reliefs of the evangelists and the Immaculate Conception.

The settlement of the altarpiece was carried out by Ventura Rodríguez and Juan de la Torre y López, the latter responsible for the elaboration of the sides of the choir in the Gospel and Epistle aisles.

The central body is occupied by a silver urn, work of Sebastián de Paredes in 1633, which contains the relics of Saint Frutos.

The first organ to be replaced was the one in the nave of the Epistle, commissioned on July 7, 1700 and delivered in August 1702 under the orders of Pedro de Liborna Echevarría.

[6] The organ on the Gospel side began its construction in 1769 thanks to a donation made by the bishop of Segovia, Juan José Martínez y Descalzo.

It preserves a baroque altarpiece executed by José Vallejo Vivanco between 1696 and 1697, and dedicated to Saint Anton, whose image presides over the whole, the work of Pedro Valle, who also began the tomb of the prelate and left it unfinished when he died.

The praying image of Idiáquez, accompanied by a page, was finally made by the Segovian José Galbán, son-in-law of Juan Alonso de Villabrille y Ron.

The grille that closes the space belonged to the main chapel of the primitive cathedral of Santa María, and was made in 1515 by the rejero Francisco de Salamanca.

It was founded by Andrés de Madrigal, treasurer and canon of the cathedral, who instituted two chaplaincies and endowed the space with a grille and altarpiece.

The grille was begun in 1618 by the Madrid-born Francisco Hernández, in a manner similar to that of the chapel of Santiago, with the coat of arms of the founder on the upper part.

The altarpiece was commissioned to the Segovian assembler Domingo Fernández, on February 5, 1629 by Doctor Pero Suárez de la Concha and Don Juan Antonio Berrocal Bezilla.

The altarpiece of the late seventeenth century is usually attributed to the assembler José Vallejo Vivanco, its composition is of three streets divided by Solomonic columns, the main canvas represents the Mass of St. Gregory.

The gate that closes the chapel was made in Jerez de la Frontera in mahogany wood from America by Francisco Jiménez, at the end of the first half of the 17th century.

The sculptures located in the tympanum are works of Sebastián Almonacid, the central figure is the Piedad or the Virgin in her Fifth Anguish, which is surrounded by angels that carry instruments of the Passion, the cover presents remains of polychrome.

The altarpiece is composed of a single body in which is located the image of St. Barbara, dating from the eighteenth century and made of polychrome wood.

The image of the Recumbent Christ is a baroque sculpture of the XVII century, made by Gregorio Fernandez and donated by the bishop Melchor de Moscoso y Sandoval.

The carving is carried in procession through the streets of Segovia on Good Friday by the parish of San Andrés “Camino al Sepulcro”.

[12] The chapel contains a simple baroque altarpiece of the end of the XVII century of which the author is unknown, in the central street is the carving that represents San Blas as bishop, with the crosier in the left hand.

Two Solomonic columns divide the altarpiece, in the central space there is a tabernacle, while on the sides there are two alacenas (hollow in the wall with shelves) to store relics.

It was designed so that it could rotate on its base, since each of its four sides represents the Annunciation, Pentecost, a casket for Holy Thursday and an expositor for the day of Corpus Christi.

Finally, a third phase took place in 1916, when seven stained glass windows were included for the main chapel made by the workshop Casa Maumejan In 2010, the complete restoration of the whole was commissioned.

It is composed of eleven tapestries woven in Brussels by Geeraert Peemans and narrates the life of Queen Zenobia and Emperor Aurelian.

At the entrance there is a classicist baroque style altarpiece that contains a carving of the Virgin of the Conception, made by the sculptor José Esteve.

The Hall of Tapestries and Liturgical Ornaments was inaugurated in 2017 after a series of reforms to make it visitable, the space previously housed the Cathedral's bookstore until 1975, when the books and documents were moved to their current location.

Two large showcases display liturgical vestments that belonged to the Segovian bishops Arias Dávila and Fadrique de Portugal.

The room of Santa Catalina, formerly a chapel, is dedicated to the exhibition of liturgical ornaments, relics, tapestries and the tomb of the Infante Don Pedro, son of Henry II.

On July 24, 1924 by orders of the bishop of Segovia, Manuel Castro Alonso, the room ceased to be used as a chapel and became a cathedral museum, which enjoyed great importance thanks to the valuable set of ornaments and goldsmith work it contained along with the collection of Flemish tapestries woven in Oudenaarde during the 17th century, belonging to the “Vegetables” series, which represent various palace scenes.

The Cathedral, Segovia by William Strang .
Main altarpiece
Choir
Retroquire
Organ of the Epistle
Altarpiece of the Pietá
Altarpiece of the Chapel
Painting of the Chapel of the Conception
Access to the cloister
Altarpiece of the Chapel of St James
Rucumbent Chirst by Gregorio Fernandez
Chapel of the Cristo de la Agonia
Altarpiece of the Chapel of the Ayala family
Ecce Homo carving
Altarpiece of the Chapel of Saint Fructus
Stained glass window, made by Francisco Herranz in the XVIIth century
Cloister
Chapter Hall
Trptych of the Descent of the Cross
Room of Saint Catherine