Church of the Assumption of Mary

The picturesque village of Bossost houses in its center a magnificent 12th century church, the most representative example of Romanesque architecture in the Aran Valley. Also known as the Church of the Purification (Gleisa dera Mair de Diu dera Purificacion in Aranese) and declared in 2015 Cultural Asset of National Interest, the monument surprises by the great stylistic unit and by the perfect state of conservation.

The church has a basilical ground plan, with three naves separated by circular pillars and finished with three semicircular apses decorated in the Lombard style that protrude to the outside. The central nave, the largest, is covered by a pointed barrel vault, while the lateral naves are covered by half-domes. The building has two porticos located in the lateral walls, a belfry and a one-eyed bell gable.

Highlights

✔ The two portals, , formed by a succession of semicircular arches. The most outstanding doorway is the oldest, located on the north side. It has a tympanum of black marble carved with a pantocrator accompanied by the symbols of the evangelists, the sun and the moon.
✔ The bell tower, very high, attached to the north wall of the church. It consists of four square-planned floors of square plan finished by a slate spire.
✔ The interior. In the central apse we find a fragment of mural painting from the late 13th or early 14th century. There is also a Romanesque baptismal font, embedded in a church column.