Santa Maria was built, at the behest of the municipal authorities, over a former Romanesque church, of which only the door of Sant Martí, which gives out onto the Plaça del Fossar, remains. It is the most iconic of the town’s medieval buildings and is one of the most important ones in the country. The building’s design was ambitious, with a basilican floor-plan, an ambulatory with eight chapels, a large nave and two large side isles.
This ambitious design, more appropriate for a cathedral, resulted from expectations at the time of creating a new diocese in Cervera, at the proposal of king Jaume II, in 1317, but these expectations were never fulfilled. A tall bell tower dominates the building with its array of bells and wooden ratchets, which reproduce the 15th-century originals.
This ambitious design, more appropriate for a cathedral, resulted from expectations at the time of creating a new diocese in Cervera, at the proposal of king Jaume II, in 1317, but these expectations were never fulfilled. A tall bell tower dominates the building with its array of bells and wooden ratchets, which reproduce the 15th-century originals.