Qualla: Catalan Romanesque Churches of the Vall de Boi https://qualla.com/catalan-romanesque-churches-of-the-vall-de-boi en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:30 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/s/p/8/9/catalan-romanesque-churches-of-the-vall-de-boi-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Catalan Romanesque Churches of the Vall de Boi https://qualla.com/catalan-romanesque-churches-of-the-vall-de-boi Catalan Romanesque Churches of the Vall de Boi: Introduction https://qualla.com/catalan-romanesque-churches-of-the-vall-de-boi/ Photo credit Yvon Fruneau, CC BY-SA 3.0 igo. In 1921, a Barcelona industrialist named Lluís Plandiura hired Italian and Polish craftsmen to peel frescoes off the walls of remote Pyrenean churches and sell them to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. The transaction was entirely legal. It was also the alarm that finally roused Catalonia to protect what it had: nine Romanesque churches scattered across the Vall de Boi, their interiors covered in some of the finest medieval wall paintings in Europe. The paintings were saved -- removed not by dealers but by authorized restorers and taken to Barcelona's National Museum of Catalan Art, where they have been ever since. The churches remain in the valley, their walls now bearing reproductions of the art that once defined them.

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Image: Yvon Fruneau | CC BY-SA 3.0 igo

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/p/8/9/catalan-romanesque-churches-of-the-vall-de-boi-wp/sp89-catalan-romanesque-churches-of-the-vall-de-boi-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Catalan Romanesque Churches of the Vall de Boi: The Lombard Mark https://qualla.com/catalan-romanesque-churches-of-the-vall-de-boi/ Photo credit Sir kiss, Public domain. The churches were built between the 11th and 12th centuries, during a period when Catalonia's wealth was growing from military victories against the Moors and the rise of powerful religious orders. The architectural style is Lombard Romanesque, imported from northern Italy and ch...

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Image: Sir kiss | Public domain

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/p/8/9/catalan-romanesque-churches-of-the-vall-de-boi-wp/sp89-catalan-romanesque-churches-of-the-vall-de-boi-the-lombard-mark.mp3 0:06 2 full Catalan Romanesque Churches of the Vall de Boi: The Pantocrator of Taull https://qualla.com/catalan-romanesque-churches-of-the-vall-de-boi/ Photo credit Master of Taüll, Public domain. Sant Climent de Taull is the masterpiece. Consecrated on December 10, 1123, by the bishop of Roda, it is the largest and best-preserved church in the valley -- a basilica with three naves separated by cylindrical columns, topped by three semicircular apses, with a six-story bell ...

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Image: Master of Taüll | Public domain

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/p/8/9/catalan-romanesque-churches-of-the-vall-de-boi-wp/sp89-catalan-romanesque-churches-of-the-vall-de-boi-the-pantocrator-of-taull.mp3 0:06 3 full Catalan Romanesque Churches of the Vall de Boi: The Race to Save the Walls https://qualla.com/catalan-romanesque-churches-of-the-vall-de-boi/ Photo credit raul2010 from Catalonia, CC BY-SA 2.0. The rediscovery began with hikers. In 1904 and 1906, the Hiking Club of Catalonia organized the first documented trips to the Vall de Boi, collecting photographs, plans, and notes. In 1907, the Institute for Catalan Studies sent a full expedition to study and photograph the churc...

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Image: raul2010 from Catalonia | CC BY-SA 2.0

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/p/8/9/catalan-romanesque-churches-of-the-vall-de-boi-wp/sp89-catalan-romanesque-churches-of-the-vall-de-boi-the-race-to-save-the-walls.mp3 0:06 4 full Catalan Romanesque Churches of the Vall de Boi: Stone Sentinels of the Valley https://qualla.com/catalan-romanesque-churches-of-the-vall-de-boi/ Photo credit Núria Pueyo, CC BY-SA 2.5. Visit the valley today and the churches still punctuate the landscape like stone sentinels. Santa Eulalia d'Erill la Vall stands with its 23-meter bell tower, a textbook example of Lombard design. Santa Maria at Taull mirrors Sant Climent's structure with its own three naves and ...

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Image: Núria Pueyo | CC BY-SA 2.5

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/p/8/9/catalan-romanesque-churches-of-the-vall-de-boi-wp/sp89-catalan-romanesque-churches-of-the-vall-de-boi-stone-sentinels-of-the-valley.mp3 0:06 5 full