The Monastery of Santa Maria

The Monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll is a Benedictine monastery, constructed in the Romanesque fashion, placed within the town of Ripoll in Catalonia, Spain. Although a great deal of the present church is 19th century rebuilding, the sculptured portico is a renowned work of Romanesque artwork. The Monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll changed into founded in 888 by way of Count Wilfred the Hairy known as Guifre el Pilos in Catalan who used it as a centre to bring about the repopulation of the place after conquering it. Wilfred's son, Ridulph, turned into educated there and became later abbot of the monastery, in addition to bishop of Urgell.

The scriptorium and the monastic college speedy gained renown beneath Arnold Scholasticus. The monastery had numerous offshoots which protected the abbeys of St. Martin-du-Canigou now in France and that of Santa Maria de Montserrat. It turned into additionally recognised for its series of manuscripts which numbered 246 with the aid of the year 1046, and later blanketed the 13th century Gesta comitum Barcinonensium, considered to be the first records of Catalonia and written by the monks themselves. The cloister contains extra of the original structure than the church itself, the primary ground having been constructed between 1180 and the early 15th century.

The 2nd floor dates to the 15th and sixteenth century. It is formed, on every side, by means of 13 semicircular arches supported through small pairs of columns with carved Corinthian-like capitals, sculpted by way of Pere Gregori and Jordi de Déu. Each one of the latter has a special decoration, inspired with the aid of mythological issues or by way of every day lifestyles.