Monastery of San Miguel de Escalada

San Miguel de Escalada is a monastery in Gradefes that ranks among the most important examples of Mozarabic architecture on the Iberian Peninsula. The church is organized into three aisles with columns and horseshoe arches, three apses at the eastern end, and a transept without a central tower.

Abbot Alfonso founded the monastery in 913 after relocating here with other monks from Córdoba during the reign of García I. The complex arose during a period of intense resettlement of Christian territories south of the Cantabrian Mountains.

The portico with its horseshoe arches originally served as an open gathering space for the monastic community and still demonstrates the characteristic design language of Mozarabic construction. The fusion of Islamic building forms with Christian function can be read directly in the capitals and column bases.

Access to the church is through the southern portico, where visitors can get a good overview of the layout of the complex. The best lighting inside occurs in the morning when sunlight falls through the eastern windows.

The twelve column shafts of the portico come from Roman buildings and were reused in two different construction phases, which can be seen in the different types of marble and working marks. Some of these capitals still show traces of Roman ornamentation alongside the new Mozarabic motifs.