Church of Santa María de Bendones

Church of St Mary of Bendones Iglesia de Santa María de Bendones (Spanish)
File:Santa María de Bendones vista lateral.JPG
Basic information
Location	Bendones, Spain
Geographic coordinates
Affiliation	Roman Catholic
Province	Asturias
Year consecrated	9th century
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Inactive
Architectural description
Architectural type	Church
Architectural style	Pre-Romanesque
Direction of façade	E
Specifications
Length	18 metres (59 ft)
Width	18 metres (59 ft)

St. Mary of Bendones (Spanish: Santa María de Bendones) is a Asturian Pre-Romanesque Roman Catholic church situated in Bendones, Spain, build between 792 and 842.

It was appointed Spanish National Monument in 1958. It has an arcade with side chapels as well as a three-part head with a large transept.

Architecture

The structure is similar to the church of San Julián de los Prados, although the ground plan is not the typical basilica of the Pre-Romanesque churches, but has three enclosures at the western end, the central one as an entrance vestibule and two side areas possibly to house parishioners or ecclesiastics. This entrance leads into a single nave with a wooden ceiling, the same length as the entrance enclosures. The nave adjoins two rectangular side areas, also with a wooden ceiling, whose use seems to associated with the liturgical rites of the period. this nave joined with the sanctuary by three semicircular brick arches, each of which leads into its corresponding chapel, of which only the main or central one is covered with a brick barrel vault, the other two with wooden ceilings.

Above the main chapel is the "typical" chamber, only accessible from outside, through a trefoil window with the standard Pre-Romanesque features; central arch larger than the side ones, resting on two free-standing capitals with rope moulding, and the upper rectangle framed by simple moulding.

Independent from the church structure, though close to its southern facade, stands the bell tower, on a rectangular ground plan.

References

• Prerrománico Asturiano. El arte de la monarquía Asturiana. Gijón, 1999. Editorial Trea ISBN 84-95178-39-7
• A la búsqueda del prerrománico olvidado (2 Tomos). Gijón, 1999. Author: Francisco Monge Calleja ISBN 84-931350-0-3
• Guía del prerómanico: Visigodo, Asturiano, Mozárabe. Madrid, 2005. Editorial: Anaya

External links

• Iglesia de Santa María de Bendones, 3D model in Google SketchUp