Revealing the Ancient Ermita de Santa Maria, Hidden Beneath Solsona's Castle

Tucked away in the heart of Solsona's castle lies the Ermita de Santa Maria, a national treasure steeped in history. Its singular nave, covered by a barrel vault reinforced by three semicircular arcs, greets the east with a semi-circular apse, crowned by a quarter-sphere vault. Time has etched intricate patterns on the exterior frieze of arcuations under the rafter. The south side reveals an intriguing pair of chapels, each featuring cross vaults and communicating arches of a point.

The north side, on the other hand, is dominated by a series of arcformers of a point, snugly buried beneath the castle. Adjoining the apse, another chapel boasts a pointed barrel vault. However, the western wall, once home to the entryway, has succumbed to the passage of time. Despite this, the masonry, composed of well-cut yet irregular blocks, has maintained a uniform arrangement across courses. Its earliest known existence can be traced back to 1093.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons