Doorway of the church of Sant Vicenç in Malla

Next to the reliefs and other sculptural elements from the Romanesque Cathedral of Vic, and in sight of the 11th century bell tower, the only part of it that remains standing, we present the reconstruction of the doorway of the church of Sant Vicenç in Malla, a good example of the typical shape of small Romanesque doorways. Looking at it from top to bottom we can clearly distinguish its constituent elements: the columns with their bases, the capitals and the archivolts. The sculptural decoration, carved in relief, is concentrated on the capitals and the archivolts. The latter present an ornamentation based on intertwining plant stalks. The capitals feature animals facing each other and human figures that possibly show episodes from the martyrdom of Saint Vincent. The Malla doorway clearly shows the direct influence of the Vic-Ripoll Workshop, which did the sculptural decoration of Vic Cathedral in the 12th century, and which also left its mark on other churches in the 'comarca' of Osona and the diocese of Vic, like Santa Eugènia in Berga and Folgueroles, where you can find doorways with similar characteristics. The village of Malla is just a few kilometres from Vic. Its parish church, from where this work comes, is dedicated to Saint Vincent, and in 1191 an altar was consecrated there dedicated to the Virgin. It is thought that the doorway must have been built sometime near this date.