Church of Santa María

Religious | Maó - Mahón

Constructed on the site of the Gothic church of the 13th-15th centuries, the present-day parish church of Santa María dates back to the 18th century. Building began during the first British period, in 1748, and did not finish until forty years later. The bell tower was built between 1859 and 1868. Santa María, which is larger than its medieval predecessor, is a hall church with a single nave. In spite of its late construction – when Neoclassicism was beginning to triumph in Europe – the nave partially follows the structural patterns of Gothic architecture, as it has six sections covered by cross vaults. The spaces between buttresses contain the side chapels. In the late 19th century the side chapels were decorated with Neo-Gothic ornamentation. The interior is inspired by Neo-Gothic, and has a monumental organ of great instrumental and artistic quality. In 1806 the rector Gabriel Alenyar commissioned the master organ-builders Francisco Otter and Johan Kiburz, residents of Barcelona, to build it. When it was completed, in 1809, transportation problems arose, due to the Napoleonic Wars and its size (15 metres high by 9 wide). It has four keyboards and 3006 sound pipes, 197 of which are made of wood and the rest of metal. Eventually it was inaugurated in 1810 and the artistic ornamentation was carried out by the Menorcan sculptor, Francesc Comas.