of the twelfth or the beginning of the
thirteenth century, Santa Maria la Mayor, popularly called _la
catedral_, closely resembles the cathedral church at Zamora. The style
is the same (Byzantine-Romanesque), and the impression of strength and
solidity produced by the warlike aspect of the building is even more
pronounced than in the case of the sister church.

The general plan is that of a basilica, rectangular in shape, with a
three-lobed apse, the central lobe being by far the largest in size, and
a transept which protrudes slightly beyond the width of the church. This
transept is situated immediately in front of the apse; the _croisee_ is
surmounted by the handsome _cimborio_, larger than that at Zamora,
pierced by twice as many round-topped windows, but lacking a cupola, as
do also the flanking towers, which are flat-topped. Above and between
these latter, the cone-shaped roof of the _cimborio_, properly speaking,
is sloping and triangular in its cross-section.

This body, less Oriental in appearance than the one in Zamora, impresses
one with a feeling of greater awe, thanks to the great diameter as
compared with the foreshortened height. Crowning as it does the apse
(from the proximity of the transept to the head of the church), the
_croisee_, and the two wings of the transept, the cupola in question
produces a weird and incomprehensible effect on the spectator viewing it
from the southeast. The more modern tower, which backs the _cimborio_,
lends, it is true, a certain elegance to the edifice that the early
builders were not willing to impart. The ensemble is, nevertheless,
peculiarly Byzantine, and, with the mother-church in Zamora, which it
resembles without copying, it stands almost unique in the history of
art.

The lateral doors, not situated in the transept, are located near the
foot of the church. The southern portal is the larger, but the most
simple; the arch which crowns it shows a decided ogival tendency, a
circumstance which need not necessarily be attributed to Gothic
influence, as in many churches prior to the introduction of the ogival
arch the pointed top was known, and in isolated cases it was made use
of, though purely by accident, and not as a constructive element.

The northern door is smaller, but a hundred times richer in sculptural
design. It shows Byzantine influence in the decoration, and as a
Byzantine-Romanesque portal can figure among the best in Spain.

[Illustration: TORO CATHED