Sant Martí de Puigbò

Sant Martí de Puigbò is the ruin of a Romanesque chapel in the municipality of Gombrèn, in the Ripollès comarca of Girona province, Catalonia. It sits at 1,120 metres above sea level, at the foot of the Tossa de Puigbò peak, in a side valley of a tributary of the Merlès river.

Where exactly is the chapel?

Reaching Sant Martí de Puigbò means walking roughly 4 kilometres from the village of Gombrèn, along a path that passes through the Cortals and Barraques area. The ruins stand barely a hundred metres from the mas Puigbò farmstead. There is no vehicle access, which keeps the site quiet and mostly visited by hikers and people interested in Romanesque heritage rather than casual sightseers.

What is known about its history?

The parish first appears in the 11th- and 12th-century lists of the Vic diocese under the Latin forms "Sancti Martini de Pruimal" or "Puymal". In 1048 the farmstead known as "Puiomalo" was granted to the monastery of Sant Joan de les Abadesses, and by 1140 the place was recorded as "Podio malo". The original dedication, Sant Martí de Puigmal, only became Puigbò in the 13th century.

The nearby castle changed hands more than once. In 1363 the Abbot of Ripoll bought the castle of Puigbò from King Pere III the Ceremonious for 6,000 pounds, and in 1376 the barony of Mataplana passed from the lords of Pinós to the abbot of Sant Joan de les Abadesses. A new parish church was built in 1737, after which the old Romanesque building lost its liturgical role, and even the newer church stopped holding regular services in 1939. Today Sant Martí de Puigbò survives on paper as a chapel dependent on the parish of Sant Pere de Gombrèn, alongside the chapel of Santa Magdalena de Solanllong.

How much of the Romanesque building still stands?

The chapel was likely built in the 11th century from flat, roughly hewn stone blocks set with thick lime-mortar joints. Its original layout is thought to have followed a trefoil plan with three apses, though only the central apse has survived in any recognisable form, together with two double-splayed windows and a quarter-sphere vault now at risk of collapsing. A small absidiola remains attached to the north wall, absorbed into the base of the old castle structure. The whole site is listed on Catalonia's Inventory of Architectural Heritage, but in practice it stands as an archaeological ruin rather than an intact building.

What happened to the church's altar frontal?

The chapel's most valuable furnishing was a painted altar frontal, now kept at the Museu Episcopal de Vic under inventory number 9. Measuring 97 by 123 centimetres, it depicts the life of Saint Martin of Tours: a Pantocrator inside a pointed mandorla occupies the centre, flanked by four scenes — the saint sharing his cloak with a beggar, the miracle of raising a catechumen from the dead, his death and the ascension of his soul, and his funeral. A Latin inscription reads "DANS INOPEM TERRIS MARTINVS VIVET E CELIS", and the border carries the small "eye" motifs, or cogollos, typical of the Ripoll workshop. Vermilion and green backgrounds alternate across the panel against earthy ochre tones, and the piece was built from wood joined with strips of parchment and covered in plaster. Most scholars date it to the late 11th or early-to-mid 12th century, making it one of the oldest surviving painted altar frontals in Catalonia.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Sant Martí de Puigbò still used for worship? No. The chapel lost its role once the newer parish church was completed in 1737, and even that successor building stopped holding regular services in 1939.

Where can visitors see the original altar frontal? It is held at the Museu Episcopal de Vic, listed under inventory number 9.

How do you get to the ruins? On foot or by bike, via a roughly 4-kilometre path from the centre of Gombrèn through the Cortals and Barraques area — there is no direct road access.

Who was the chapel dedicated to? Saint Martin of Tours, whose life is illustrated in detail on the surviving altar frontal.