Collégiale Saint-Jean

The Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste of Perpignan, listed here as a collegiate church, is the cathedral of the Pyrénées-Orientales and one of the largest Gothic churches in French Catalonia. Perpignan was the capital of the Kingdom of Majorca, a Mediterranean realm that existed between the thirteenth and the fourteenth centuries and included Roussillon, Cerdagne and the Balearic Islands, and the cathedral dates from that period of prosperity. Work was begun in 1324 under King Sancho of Majorca, on the site of an older church, and it continued for nearly two centuries. The building was consecrated in 1509, and the result is a church in the Catalan Gothic style, which has features that differ from the Gothic of northern France.

The typical element of Catalan Gothic is the wide single nave, with no aisles, flanked by deep side chapels set between the buttresses. At Perpignan, the nave is exceptionally broad and covered by a high vault, so the interior is spacious, bright and plain, with an effect of calm grandeur. The walls are bare stone, with tall pointed windows with stained glass, and the volume of the space draws the eye toward the east end. The exterior is plain and fortress-like, built of pebble and brick in the local manner, with a bell tower with an iron cage and a decorated south door, and it is less decorative than the northern cathedrals.

Inside, the glory of the church is its altarpieces. In the baroque period the chapels and choir were filled with large carved and gilded retables, as is typical of Catalonia, with columns, statues and golden decoration, and these give the church a rich and colourful appearance. The high altarpiece, made of marble, is one of the major baroque works in the region. The church also holds a famous medieval work, the Dévôt Christ, a fourteenth-century wooden crucifix of a strongly expressive, realistic style that draws pilgrims and is kept in a chapel of its own. A very old organ with a painted case, built in the early sixteenth century, stands on the wall of the nave, and concerts are given on it.

Next to the cathedral lies the Campo Santo, a medieval cemetery cloister of the early fourteenth century, one of the oldest of its kind in France, which is used for exhibitions and concerts and can be visited separately. Its marble arcades and its calm space reward a walk.

The cathedral is free to enter. Opening hours vary by day and by season, and it is closed during services and for some periods of the week, so check at the tourist office before you go. A visit takes about thirty minutes to an hour. The church stands in the middle of the old town, close to the Castillet, the Place de la Loge, with the Loge de Mer, the palace of the kings of Majorca, the Musée Hyacinthe Rigaud and the Parc de la Cerisaie. It suits lovers of Gothic architecture and anyone interested in Catalan culture and history.