ARCIPRESTAL BASILICA of Morella

The first blessing was performed in 1311, although the works and improvements still had to continue for much longer.

You are looking at a basilica building with three naves with three polygonal apses located to the east of the church. The roof is cross-vaulted and throughout the construction the horizontal lines predominate over the vertical following the construction tradition of the temples of the time in the Crown of Aragon.

The Arciprestal Basilica of Santa Maria de Morella has on the main facade the portal of the Apostles, presided over, in the mainell, by the Virgin Mary with the Child, above we see the scenes of the Infancy of Jesus and on the tympanum the Coronation of Mary ( 14th century), has a wooden door and Mudejar-style nails.

Choir: A beautiful and singular architectural example, with a Gothic vault with an extremely lowered cross, defying the laws of architecture. Work of Pere Segarra from Morellà. Central vault key with the Virgin Mary flanked by angels and secondary keys with beautiful Gothic canopies.

Back choir: Admirable architectural and sculptural work. The first frieze is presided over by Jesus Christ the judge, flanked by the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Apostle, accompanied by the twelve apostles, archaic images of polychrome stone. Below we find the frieze of the Last Judgment where in the center is Saint Michael the Archangel weighing the souls. To his right is represented the legion of saints on the way to heaven; on the left, demons and the damned on the way to Hell.

Singular display of a wide helical spiral staircase, work of Antoni Sancho in the 15th century. On the rail, made of hardened, gilded and polychrome plaster, the Genealogy of Our Lord Jesus Christ is depicted in relief, which ends with the scene of the Adoration of the Shepherds and the Magi. The flight of the stairs is decorated with plant and animal motifs, showing a face, probably a portrait of the author of the railing, the Italian Giuseppe Belli.

On the main facade and next to the Portal of the Apostles we find the Portal of the Virgins, with representations of the holy virgins and martyrs most revered in the Middle Ages, presided over by Saint Úrsula (15th century).

Due to the structural problems caused by a fire, the portal of the Apostles is reinforced with single buttresses in the Plateresque style.

Grand altarpiece in Churrigueresco style (17th century), sculptural work by Vicent Dols and paintings by Pau Pontons (Aaron, Melchizedek, Trinity, Nativity, Adoration of the Magi, St. Julian, St. Theodore, First Mass in Morella, Delivery of the Lignum Crucis, 17th-18th century) and Joan Francesc Cruella (Assumption of Mary, 19th century).

Baroque facade, gilded and polychrome. Instrument built by the  organist Francesc Turull made between 1719-1720. 47 note keyboards. 49 registers on the Grand Organ. 21 registers on the Positive organ. 3.693 tubes.

Side altars: The long history of the Morellà temple has accumulated a large number of artistic works, among which we can highlight: the Piety, the Trinity with the Sagrada Família, Sant Pere, the altarpiece of Santa Àgueda de la Pobleta, the so- called Sargues with the Nativity and Assumption of the Virgin, Saint Christopher, the so-called Madonna of Sassoferrato, the Visitation, Saint Catherine and the remains of the stone altarpiece of Saint Vincent and Saint Lawrence.

Exhibition: Set of works of art, heritage of many of the parishes of Els Ports. In the sacristy, as soon as we enter we find the Holy Cena, the work of Espinosa. On the ground floor, pictorial works made between the 17th and 19th centuries are exhibited. On the first floor we find the pieces of goldsmithing, among which the monumental custodians stand out and, especially, a collection of Gothic crosses made in Morella and owned by different parishes in the region. On the second floor we can see several textile pieces of liturgical use, the Pieta altarpiece (15th century), a table of the resurrection and different tables and reliefs from the old side altars.

Built in the transition between Romanesque and Gothic. The works began in 1265 with the preparation of the esplanade where the construction was to take place.

You are looking at a basilica building with three naves with three polygonal apses located to the east of the church. The roof is cross-vaulted and throughout the construction the horizontal lines predominate over the vertical following the construction tradition of the temples of the time in the Crown of Aragon.