Type: Church
Century: XI-XII, XVIII
Architectural style: Romanesque – Neoclassic
Vielha: Vilamòs
Municipality: Vilamòs
The church of Santa María de Vilamòs has a three-nave basilical ground plan; the central nave and the south side are barrel vaulted; the north lateral vault is a quarter sphere; the whole structure rests on circular pillars finished off by a smooth impost. The last restoration work carried out uncovered the configuration of the inside masonry of the building, with an ordered layout of the ashlars, a very Romanesque trait.
The belfry of the church is attached to the centre of the south wall, and which, along with that of the church of Bossòst, are the only two Romanesque belfries conserved in the Aran Valley. The layout of the openings and decorative elements of the belfry of Vilamòs are totally Romanesque, as endorsed by the semicircular arched windows and the decorative columns that run along the body of the tower.
The absidal head was added in the Gothic period, and the original Romanesque apse was replaced with a polygonal one. The access door to the temple, originally located in the south wall, is now in the west wall and dates from modern times (1816).
One of the most interesting artistic attractions of the church of Santa María of Vilamòs are the Roman gravestones embedded into different wall parts, although those located in the belfry tower, which can be seen from the outside, are particularly noteworthy.
