The Survival of Square Apses in Romanesque Architecture: The Example of the 'Sierra de la Demanda'

Abstract

Since the 6^th century, medieval Hispanic churches were characterised by the use of square apses in their buildings. From the 11^th century the arrival of the Romanesque style brought a new model of circular apses that had spread throughout Europe. However, the acceptance of this new typology in the north of the Iberian Peninsula was not unitary and there were some rural territories that remained rooted in their traditional square apses. The present study aims to analyse how these structures survived during the Romanesque period.