Madonna and Child on the Central Pier of the Facade, Tarragona Cathedral, Spain, 2007 (photo)

The Cathedral’s construction lasted from 1117 to 1331, and represents the transition from Romanesque to Gothic. The west facade has a deep Gothic doorway flanked by two massive buttresses, with rich sculptural decoration and a large rose window with openwork tracery in the upper section. On the archivolt and buttresses, under Gothic canopies, stand statues of the Apostles and Prophets. In the central pier of the portal is a statue of the Virgin with the Child. On the lintel is Jesus Christ and a row of figures rising out of their tombs on the Judgment Day. The sculptures on the main portal are the work of 13th century Catalan sculptor Master Bartomeu.