ST. JAMES CATHEDRAL (KATEDRALA SVETOG JAKOVA)

A true work of architects, the construction of the Cathedral of Santiago (1431-1535) saw the Italian Francesco di Giacomo, Juraj Dalmatinac, known as George the Dalmatian, and the Tuscan Niccolò di Giovanni Fiorentino succeed one another. From 1444, Juraj Dalmatinac redrew the plans, supervised the unique elevation technique, and erected the building with dry stones cut to size. Nicolas the Florentine adorns the building with a Renaissance dome. If the Gothic building is increased by a transept, a baptistery and then a dome of Venetian influence, the successful transition from the Gothic to the Renaissance gives the whole an exceptional external and internal harmony. This example of balance in the stylistic components is the fruitful result of exchanges of influences between the three cultural areas in the 15th and 16th centuries. This was one of the major criteria for UNESCO, which declared it a World Heritage Site in 2000. This cathedral is one of the few buildings of the Western clergy that has not been modified over the centuries.

The work of the sculptors is also remarkable. On the front, do not miss the frieze in high relief of the 71 portraits of women, men and children representing the face of civil society at the time. The stones were renovated in the quarry that served as the original building. Even today, the work of stonemasons in situ is still the masterpiece of Dalmatinac.