Royal Monastery of Santa María de Sigena
Royal Monastery of Santa María de Sigena is a convent in Villanueva de Sigena, region of Aragon, Spain. Built between 1183 and 1208, the Romanesque church was founded by Queen Sancha of Castile, wife of Alfonso II of Aragon.
The Romanesque Monastery of Santa María de Sigena
One of the sepulchres returned to the Monastery of Sigena from Lleida Museum.
Paintings from the chapter house of the Monastery of Sigena at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya in Barcelona.
The chapter house and its frescos, before 1914
An archivolt is an ornamental moulding or band following the curve on the underside of an arch. It is composed of bands of ornamental mouldings surrounding an arched opening, corresponding to the architrave in the case of a rectangular opening. The word is sometimes used to refer to the under-side or inner curve of the arch itself. Most commonly archivolts are found as a feature of the arches of church portals. The mouldings and sculptures on these archivolts are used to convey a theological story or depict religious figures and ideologies of the church in order to represent the gateway between the holy space of the church and the external world. The presence of archivolts on churches is seen throughout history, although their design, both architecturally and artistically, is heavily influenced by the period they were built in and the churches they were designed for.
Archivolts on the South Portal of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres, Chartres, France.
Romanesque portal with rounded archivolts on Saint-Sulpice church in Paris
Gothic Portal with pointed archivolts on St Theobald's Church in Thann
Central Portal on the West Facade of the Saint Denis Cathedral