San Caprasio is a church in Santa Cruz de la Serós

Santa Cruz de la Serós

Santa Cruz de la Serós is a village in the province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain. Located 88 kilometers from the city of Huesca, it is located at a hill side on the way to the Monastery of San Juan de la Peña.-Monuments:...

, Jacetania

Jacetania

Jacetania is a comarca in northern Aragon, Spain. It is located in the northwestern corner of the Huesca and Zaragoza provinces.The administrative capital is Jaca, with 13,374 inhabitants the largest town of the comarca. The area is famous for its ski resorts.Jacetania borders with France in the...

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, in First Romanesque

First Romanesque

First Romanesque is the name due to Josep Puig i Cadafalch to refer to the Romanesque art developed in Catalonia since the late 10th century....

 style.

History

The church is dedicated to St. Caprasius

Caprasius of Agen

Saint Caprasius of Agen is venerated as a Christian martyr and saint of the fourth century. Relics associated with him were discovered at Agen in the fifth century...

, a 4th-century Gaulish-Roman saint connected to the pilgrims who, during the Middle Ages, ran the Way of Santiago. The town of Santa Cruz de la Serós was located some 3 km (2 mi) from the route.

It was erected in the early 11th-century in Lombard-Romanesque style, perhaps with support of artists and craftsmen from northern Italy. In 1089 the diocese of Jaca

Diocese of Jaca

The Diocese of Jaca is located in north-eastern Spain, in the province of Huesca, part of the autonomous community of Aragón...

 gave the church to monastery of San Juan de la Peña, which, for some time, converted it into a priorate.

Architecture

The church did not undergo substantial modifications since its construction in the 11th century, with the exception of the 12th century bell tower, which is however separated from the interior.

The main body, in stone, has a single nave, with two cross vaults. The apse, of small size, is surmounted by a barrel vault

Barrel vault

A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault or a wagon vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve along a given distance. The curves are typically circular in shape, lending a semi-cylindrical appearance to the total design...

and sided by fake arcades and three windows. Fake arcades and columns are also present on the external perimeter.