The Basilica Sanctuary of Meritxell is the most important religious temple in Andorra. But in addition to its spiritual importance, this place of worship in the Canillo parish offers other reasons for your visit, mainly from an artistic and landscape point of view. This religious complex in Andorra is a place full of symbolism for the inhabitants of the Principality. In fact, it houses the image of the Virgin of Meritxell, patron saint of the country. It is a polychrome carving reminiscent of the original Romanesque one, destroyed in the fire of 1972. In addition, the Basilica Sanctuary of Meritxell houses other carvings of Andorran saints, patrons of the rest of the country's parishes. This importance has earned the temple the title of Minor Basilica, granted by Pope Francis in 2014, thus becoming the only place of worship with this distinction in the Principality. Since then, Meritxell has been part of the so-called Marian Route, which runs through four other important sanctuaries in Spain and France: El Pilar, Montserrat, Torreciudad and Lourdes. For this reason, this temple has also become a pole of attraction for visitors moved by faith and spirituality.
It is the parish church of Ordino, initially built in medieval times and remodeled in the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. Inside it preserves a Romanesque carving from the late eleventh and early twelfth century of the Virgin of Remedy, polychrome wood, which with its 44 cm is the smallest of the Principality. Open to the public. * 360º https://www.google.com/maps?q&layer=c&z=17&sll=42.556866,1.532851&cid=6204175819484033747&panoid=kclw9QXK-gAAAAQfCUBFNQ&cbp=13,356.21721526921368,,0,0&ved=0CAwQ2wU&sa=X&ei=5B7zU4_8Lsbo8APJjYGYBg&gl=US&hl=es
Privately owned, it is a 20th century reconstruction of the primitive Romanesque church destroyed by two avalanches.
The building of the Church of Sant Joan de Caselles is dated between the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Its construction has the characteristic architectural scheme of the Romanesque churches of the Principality of Andorra. It has a rectangular nave covered with wood, semicircular apse and a bell tower in Lombard style. The building also houses two porches, which are believed to have been built between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Inside the church of Sant Joan de Caselles you can see traces of a 12th century Romanesque stucco majesty surrounded by a pictorial mural scene depicting the crucifixion with Longinus, accompanied by the sun and the moon. Behind the altar is a 16th century altarpiece of great artistic quality reflecting Italian and Germanic Renaissance influences, in which scenes from the life and martyrdom of St. John, author of the Apocalypse and patron saint of the church, are depicted.
The chapel of Santa Barbara is a small building located on the royal road to Ordino, just at the entrance of the village. Santa Barbara, protector of the military and miners, symbolizes the active life. The floor plan of the church is rectangular, with a small nave covered with wooden gable trusses supported by a toral arch in the center of the nave.
Building attached to the rock of the gorges of the river Valira d'Orient. Chapel of Romanesque origin, rebuilt almost entirely. Dedicated to Sant Antoni Abat, patron saint of muleteers, who invoked before passing through this fattened quagmire.
Privileged location at 1635 meters above sea level and difficult to access. The current building dates from the early 20th century, although there are references that indicate that the Canòlich site already existed in medieval times (1176). Likewise, the Manual Digest de les Valls Neutras de Andorra (1745 - Compilation of the history, government and uses and customs of Andorra, work of the illustrious episcopal veguer, doctor in law and Andorran lawyer, Antoni Fiter i Rossell), cites "Na. Sra. de Canòlich" as one of the three main sanctuaries of the valleys of Andorra, together with Meritxell (Canillo) and San Antoni de la Grella (La Massana). Everything suggests that the current sanctuary of Canòlich was built on the foundations of an old Romanesque building, since the image of the Virgin dates from the 12th century. This Romanesque carving was crowned by the Vatican in 1999 and is currently in the parish church of San Julià and San Germà, in the village of Sant Julià de Lòria. The sanctuary preserves a baroque altarpiece from the 18th century and ceramic murals by the artist Sergi Mas. Every year, on the last Saturday in May, this sanctuary celebrates the well-known "Canòlich meeting": it is undoubtedly the largest religious event, which brings together numerous visitors year after year.
Parish church of the XVII century, built on an ancient medieval temple. From the medieval period a blessed pica and a wrought iron candelabra are preserved. The interior houses five baroque altarpieces, dating from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
The Romanesque church of San Vicenç d'Enclar is, together with the church of Santa Coloma, one of the oldest in the Principality. Both are located in the parish of Andorra la Vella, in the nucleus of Santa Coloma. This primitive church was part of the fortified complex of Enclar, from the Visigothic period. The ground plan of the church of San Vicenç is rectangular and the apse is square. It has a bell tower attached to the south wall of the nave, with a circular floor plan, crowned with a floor of large windows and a second floor with seven small windows with an ultra-passed arch. It was probably built during the 9th century: its typology corresponds to the usual types of Catalan and Languedoc architecture of the 10th century and earlier.
Romanesque base of the twelfth century but greatly modified between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. It still preserves a holy supper of protogothic style dated from the XIV century. It is possible to see an altarpiece made by Juan de Monterde of the XVI century and a pictorial cycle of the same epoch dedicated to San Cristóbal.
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