The Lost Facade at the End of the Way of St. James

The changes that came with the reforms and demolitions during the Baroque restorations have resulted in a complex interpretation, and there are various hypotheses regarding the identification of the characters represented on the counterfacade. What is known is that they complement the discourse of the Portico of Glory as a whole.

The series of figures represented on the counterfacade, as well as in the Portico as a whole, will have been influenced by liturgical scenes from other cathedrals of the period. The text of Ordo Prophetarum, or Procession of the Prophets, has made it possible to identify, among others, the column statues of the counterfacade.

Among the characters duly identified by the Agnus Dei is John the Baptist. On the other side, on one side of the southern portal, according to the Ordo Prophetarum, is the poet Virgil, who had anticipated the Second Coming.

On the side of the northern portal is a representation of the Erythraean Sibyl, followed by the Queen of Sheba, in this case related to the image of Solomon situated on the exterior portal of the portico.

Finally, at either end, the sequence of characters continues on the pillars of the portico: prophets to the north, and apostles to the south. In this sense, here, respectively, are Balaam and Jude the Apostle.

Above these figures, on the upper level, angels and seraphim worship and adore the image of Christ in Majesty.

This first modification occurred between 1520 and 1521 and affected the interior of the portal. A series of column statues were removed, and, therefore, part of the narrative making up the discourse of the portico was also broken up.

At that time, the large central arch which provided access to the portico from the outside also disappeared and was replaced by a double door with a curved pediment.

Finally, between 1738 and 1750, the current Baroque facade by Fernando de Casas was built, replacing Mateo's.

However, some elements of the lost exterior facade are preserved in the Cathedral Museum (Museo Catedral de Santiago). These include a large rosette that may have belonged to one of the side doors.

It also holds some of the pieces that made up the sculptural elements of the portal.

The Cathedral Museum preserves the images of Kings David and Solomon, as well as an enigmatic column statue, recovered in 2016, which probably depicts a character from the Old Testament, completing the iconographic discourse of the sacred space of the Portico of Glory.

As told in Revelation: "And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof."

Therefore, from this final fragment, Master Mateo tops the vault with a keystone with the image of Agnus Dei, or the Lamb of God.

The gallery of the portico allows us to acknowledge the interior of the cathedral and its sculptural elements from a global perspective.

It also allows us to imagine and understand how the lost medieval facade would have looked and how it would have fitted in the Baroque style.