Over half the 24 Romanesque churches built in Val d’Aran between the 11th and 13th centuries were arranged in accordance with liturgical and/or astronomical criteria. These are the conclusions of a comprehensive study carried out by researchers from UIC Barcelona, which were recently published in volume 61 of the journal Archaeometry, under the title “Orientation of the Romanesque churches in the region of Val d’Aran, Spain (11th-13th centuries)”. This scientific journal is published by the Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art at Oxford University.

To arrive at these conclusions, researchers Josep Lluís i Ginovart, Mónica Lóper Piquer and Judith Urbano Lorente conducted seven topographical studies on the temples between 2014 and 2015. These analyses were carried out with a terrestrial laser scanner, which made it possible to extract highly precise data from the monuments using non-invasive techniques. A three-dimensional model on each church was later generated using 3DReshaper software, which leaves very little margin for error. 

The data collected show that 29% of the Romanesque churches in the Val d’Aran region were arranged on the basis of canonical criteria, as prescribed in medieval liturgy. Such is the case, for instance, of the Sant Andrèu Church in Casau. An additional 17% were oriented taking the feast day of the church’s patron saint as a reference. This is the case of Sant Martí de Casarilh and the Santa Maria Church in Vilamòs, for example. Finally, 12% of churches were aligned towards summer or winter, as is the case of the Sant Joan d’Arròs and Sant Fabian d’Arres churches. 

 “As regards the remaining 42%, clear criteria for orientation could not be identified, though it’s possible they were arranged towards the south-east”, explains Mónica López Piquer. This latter group includes, among others, Santa Maria de Cap d’Aran in Tredòs, Sant Miquèu in Vielha and San Blai in Les 

The research provides conclusive data which suggest that, during that period, Val d’Aran was home to educated clerics or laypersons with knowledge of the classic Vitruvian tradition or methods used to chart Roman camps, according to land-surveying sources. 

The results of the study were presented by Josep Lluís i Ginovart and Mónica López Piquer at the fifth edition of the Annual Conference on Construction History, which took place last April in Queens' College, University of Cambridge.