Santa Maria d'Amer

Santa Maria d'Amer is a former Benedictine monastery in the town of Amer, in the La Selva county of Girona province. It sits right at the heart of the town and ranks among the most significant Romanesque monuments in this part of Catalonia.

Where did the community actually begin?

The monastic story does not start in Amer itself but nearby, in the Gironès area, where around the year 820 abbot Deodat founded a small religious house dedicated to Saints Medir and Genís. A local legend credits Charlemagne with the foundation, but historians treat this as a later embellishment meant to boost the monastery's prestige rather than a historical fact. What is documented is that King Louis the Pious granted the community a charter of immunity, later confirmed by Charles the Bald in 844 and again in 860 — these charters are the earliest solid evidence of the monastery's existence.

Why did the monks relocate to Amer?

Sometime between 935 and 940 the community left its original site and moved to Amer, where a new church was built. It was consecrated in 949, with Count Borrell II of Barcelona himself attending the ceremony — a sign of how much political weight this foundation carried at the time. The new church was dedicated to Saint Mary, and the monastery kept that dedication for the rest of its history.

How prosperous did the monastery become?

Over the following centuries the monastery steadily grew richer and more influential. Although nominally tied to the bishopric of Girona, it enjoyed effective independence during the 11th and 12th centuries. In 1381 jurisdiction over the town of Amer itself passed into the abbot's hands, making the monastery the real ruling authority of the settlement. This period of prosperity lasted until the 14th century.

What damaged the monastery so severely?

The blow the community never fully recovered from struck in 1427 and 1428, when powerful earthquakes shook this part of Catalonia. The vaults and cloister of the monastic church collapsed, and several monastic buildings were destroyed outright. Reconstruction work followed in later centuries, especially during the 16th and 17th centuries, when the church naves were rebuilt and extended, giving the building part of its current form.

How did the monastery's story end?

In 1592, by papal order, Santa Maria d'Amer was merged with the monastery of Santa Maria de Roses. The community nevertheless continued at the original site for another two and a half centuries, until the wave of monastic suppressions in 1835 finally closed it for good.

What is worth noticing in the church's architecture?

The monastic church follows a basilical plan, with barrel-vaulted naves. The apse is flanked by two semicircular absidioles, each covered by a quarter-sphere vault, and the whole ensemble is linked by round arches decorated with the blind arcading typical of Lombard architecture — a hallmark detail of early Romanesque religious buildings in Catalonia.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where exactly is the Santa Maria d'Amer monastery located? In the center of the town of Amer, in the La Selva county of Girona province, Catalonia.

When was the monastery founded? Its roots go back to 820, at a site near Gironès; the new church built in Amer was consecrated in 949.

Why did the monastery stop functioning? It was merged with the monastery of Santa Maria de Roses in 1592 and was ultimately shut down in the 1835 monastic suppression.

What architectural style does the church represent? Early Catalan Romanesque, with an apse and absidioles decorated in Lombard-style blind arcading, though the building was reworked during the 16th and 17th centuries.