Bell-gable

Simple bell gable at the St. James' Church of Entença, near the Pyrenees.

The bell gable (Spanish: espadaña, Catalan: espadanya, French: clocher-mur, Italian: campanile a vela) is an architectural element crowning at the upper end of the wall of church buildings, usually in lieu of a church tower. It consists of a gable end in stone, with small hollow semi-circular arches where the church bells are placed. It is a characteristic example of the simplicity of romanesque architecture.

Overview

Bell-gables or espadañas are a feature of Romanesque architecture in Spain. Since they were easier and cheaper to build than a church tower or bell tower, they are especially common in small village churches throughout the Iberian Peninsula. This simple and sober architectural element would later be brought to the Americas and the Philippines by Iberian colonizers.^[1]

The bell gable usually rises over the front façade wall, but in some churches it may be located on top of any other wall or even on top of the toral arch in the midst of the roof. In Catalonia and the Valencian Community bell-gables are also known as campanar de paret (wall bell tower) or campanar de cadireta.^[2] (little-chair bell tower) because it reminds one of the back of a chair.

In Écija the bell tower of the church of Santa Bárbara fell destroyed by a lightning strike in 1892 and was replaced by an espadaña,^[3] a more expedient solution than rebuilding the tower.

Main types and styles

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  Bell gable at San Blas de Illescas Church, Puerto Rico

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  Four-eyed bell gable at Sant Pere d'Ullastret church

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  The traditional bell tower and the bell gable of the Agoo Basilica in La Union, Philippines

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  Espadaña on the toral arch at the Ermita del "Lorito", Ulldecona. A less common position

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  Espadaña at the Church of San Francisco, Écija

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  Russian bell gable at the Church of Dormition "s Paroma", Pskov

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  Bell-gable on the village church in Argnat, Puy-de-Dôme, France

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  The espadaña of the Basilica de Nuestra Señora de la Vega, Haro, Spain

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  Gomariz church in Leiro, Galicia (Spain)

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  Sant Jaume d'Enveja church with its large bell-gable

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  Nailloux, Haute-Garonne, France, Toulouse-type "clocher-mur"

See also

• Zvonnitsa
• Bell tower

References

1. Luis Navarro García, América en el siglo XVIII. Los primeros Borbones, ISBN 978-84-321-2107-4
2. Romànic de la Vall de Camprodon
3. Ramon Freire Galvez, Écija, lo que no conocimos.... lo que perdimos...

External links

• Bamboo or Brick: The travails of building churches in Spanish Colonial Philippines by Jose Regalado Trota, Ayala Museum