Having understood the origins of the sanctuary,
we continue the story from where we left off.
It was the year 1074 and Bishop Diego Peláez
studied the ambitious project of the French Masters
for the construction of the new Basilica.
Master Bernardo and Bishop Peláez’s plan
not only affected the structure of the ancient temple,
but called for annexing some of the surrounding buildings.
As was the case in Conques and in other Romanesque
churches that received pilgrims,
the new Basilica had to be able to both accommodate
great multitudes and hold religious services simultaneously.
The old cathedral, then, had to be demolished, to make room
to make room for a new one with a Latin cross floor plan,
three naves and an ample semicircular ambulatory
with chapels around the crypt,
so that the faithful could approach the Apostle’s relics
without interrupting the liturgy.
Unfortunately for Bishop Peláez and Masters Bernardo
and Roberto, their wishes were cut short thirteen years into construction.
During these years, they only had time
to build the three central chapels of the ambulatory:
the ones dedicated to the Savior
, Saint Peter and Saint John –
as well as the walls that connected them.
In the right wall of the Savior’s chapel,
we observe an incomplete inscription –
if we add the characters that are missing, we can read:
ANNO MILENO SEPTVAGENO QUINTO FUNDATA JACOBI.
This legend shows us that in the year 1075,
the foundations of the cathedral were laid.
Diego Peláez played an important role as bishop of Iría-Flavia.
Besides undertaking the grand project of the cathedral,
he substituted the traditional Mozarab liturgy for a Roman one,
but his zeal to defend the wealth of the church earned him enemies.
Accused of high treason for having collaborated with the Normans and English,
he was captured in 1088 and, by order of the king,
dismissed as bishop of Compostela.
Luckily, there are times when history correct the errors of men
and presents us with exceptional characters,
and there is no doubt that this is what happened in that time.
He had the sensation that everything had gone by too fast.
Twenty years had gone by since Diego Gelmírez
traveled to Rome to be named bishop.
The position had remained unfilled for four years
after Pope Urban II transferred him from Iría-Flavia to Compostela in 1095.
As he admired the basilica at Conques,
he dwelled in his eagerness to convert Santiago
in the second great center of Christianity after Rome.
In order to achieve this, Santiago had to somehow
emulate the characteristics of the Holy See.
The Santiago basilica had to live up to expectation
and this trip was allowing him to get to know the monumental works
of art that were being created throughout Europe.
Upon his return, he would analyze all this information
with the master builders in order to implement it in the new designs.
In the year 1101, while in Santiago –
after being named bishop by Pope Paschal II -
Diego Gelmírez initiated his projects.
The first would be the conclusion of the cathedral.
By that time, artisans and builders led by Master Esteban
had just finished the apse of the church,
adding the final touches to the ambulatory with the two chapels
that were missing and with the apse triforium.
And they had erected part of the transept building and decorated its four chapels.
Bishop Gelmírez had the opportunity to see firsthand
the main workshops specializing in Romanesque art
in Toulouse, Conques and Cluny.
It was apparent that if he wanted the Santiago church
to become that great Apostolic see,
it had to be at the vanguard of art.
To this end, he patronized continuous exchanges
between Compostelan builders
and the most advanced constructors of the times.
The Way of St. James had definitely
become a torrent of culutral and artistic exchange
between Galicia and the rest of Europe.
The fruits of this cultural internationalism arrived quickly.
At each side of the gigantic transept,
two monumental and sculptured façades were lifted,
in which two of the three main doors to the basilica were placed.
To the north, the Puerta Francígena,
through which the pilgrims finalizing the French way entered. And to the south,
the Puerta de Platerías lifted above an atrium
that gives access to the Episcopal Palace.
The first portico, highlighted for its great beauty in the Codex Calixtinus,
was destroyed around 1757,
and was substituted by the present Puerta de Azabachería.
Some of its pieces are still conserved
in the cathedral museum.
The façade of the Puerta de Platerías has lasted until our time,
but its appearance was immediately modified:
still in the days of Bishop Gelmírez,
it suffered the ravages of a fire.
The original reliefs were adorned with various pieces
from both the original Francígena door and from earlier works.