Cathedral of the Sea is a historical novel by Spanish author Ildefonso Falcones

Ildefonso Falcones

Ildefonso Falcones is a Spanish lawyer and writer from Barcelona.He became famous with the historical thriller Cathedral of the Sea, published in 2006, and set in medieval Barcelona. His second novel is La mano de Fátima .-References:...

. The action takes place in 14th century Barcelona

Barcelona

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

 at the height of the Inquisition

Inquisition

The Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis , was the "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice-system of the Roman Catholic Church. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy...

, with the construction of Santa Maria del Mar serving as background to the story.

Plot summary

The book is set in Barcelona and its main character is Arnau Estanyol, the son of a fugitive serf who obtains freedom and eventually achieves a high status.

Awards

The novel has won several literary awards including:

• Euskadi de Plata 2006 (Spain)
• The Qué Leer Award (Spain)
• Giovanni Boccaccio 2007 award (Italy)