Ávila - Basílica de San Vicente

Under the Visigoths, Ávila was one of the most important cities in the kingdom due to its proximity to the capital Toledo. From the 8th to the 11th centuries, Ávila was Moorish. The situation in the contested borderland between the Muslim and Christian worlds prevented prosperity, which only began in the 15th century when the fighting moved further south. The city experienced its heyday in the 16th century. The plague, the expulsion of the Moriscos (baptized Moors), and the emigration of many people to America caused Ávila's gradual decline, from which the city has only slowly recovered since the 19th century. Today the population is around 60,000.

According to legend, martyrs Vicente, Sabina and Cristeta were martyred during the rule of Diocletian. Their corpses were buried and later a basilica was built over their tombs. In 1062 their remains were moved to Burgos, but in 1175 they were returned to Ávila, and the construction of a new basilica was started. Construction was finally finished in the 14th century.

San Vicente is on the Latin cross plan, with a nave and two aisles ending in semicircular apses.

The right side of the late Romanesque southern portal.