Heritage of Sant Miquel del Fai

Declared a Site of National Cultural Interest by the Generalitat de Catalunya. In the year 997 Count Borrell and Countess Ermessenda granted the house-church of Sant Miquel, within the boundaries of Montbui castle, to the nobleman Gombau de Besora so he could build a monastery there. In 1006 the church, together with a portion of land and the cave, was finally granted as an allodial property in order to build the monastery house. Gombau united the monastery of Sant Miquel and the monastery of Sant Victor de Marseille in 1042. The Priory was secularised in 1567 and joined to the minor archdeacon of the see of Girona. In 1832 it became the property of the owners of the Torras farmhouse in Sant Quirze de Safaja, who were its leaseholders, and the Priory was abolished.

Cultural Heritage File

The historical study determines that the ceiling could be contemporary to the room's construction in the 16th century. It is made up of a structure of crossed beams and wooden mouldings in a grid decorated with polychrome, gilding and ornamental motifs.

The decoration of the spaces left between the tin work and the wooden beams seems to clearly date after the creation of the roof itself. It was common for these spaces to be repainted depending on the tastes of the time. 

This type of ceiling was decorated in the Gothic period with polychrome, gilding and ornamental motifs that later, in the Renaissance, were more richly and complexly decorated, taking advantage of the framework of the beams to inscribe rhombuses, octagons, carved and moulded abutments that could be decorated with several layers of plaster of Paris and sheets of silver and yellow varnish, known as colradura. 

In this case they refer to classicist patterns that were used from the late Baroque to the 19th century and are therefore difficult to date precisely. The colours used, however, refer us to a contemporary era that could date back to the time when the monastery came into private hands from 1830. 

In the church of Sant Miquel del Fai a copy is preserved, made in 2002 by the artist Àlex Masalles, of a Gothic image of polychrome alabaster with pigments and gold leaf of the Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus, dated between 1330 and 1340.

The original work is part of the Gothic sculptural tradition influenced by French models of the time and is linked to the school of the province of Lleida due to the stylistic similarities with other works in the area. The original piece is currently part of the collection of the Maricel Museum in Sitges.

The image depicts the Virgin Mary seated on a throne, which we can see from the back of the image, with the Baby Jesus on her lap. She wears a round-necked tunic tied under the chest with a belt and a long cloak with golden trim, which reveals the curls of her hair. Her head is crowned with a golden crown with floral finishes and on her chest she wears a floral brooch to hold her cloak. Her expression conveys serenity, with an oval face, sweet features, almond-shaped eyes, a small mouth and pointed chin.

As a symbol of Marian devotion, the Virgin Mary appears with the globe in her right hand, representing her as the queen of heaven, and with the Baby Jesus on the other side, symbolising her divine motherhood. He is in a standing posture on the mother's left knee in a more rigid and forced position, with his head raised and his gaze fixed on the sky. He wears a long tunic reaching his feet and holds a bird in his left hand.

The work stands out for its excellence, delicacy and elegance, with meticulous treatment of the fabrics and the anatomy of the bodies. Due to its sculptural treatment of a round body, it is likely that it was a free-standing image that could originally be wrapped. Unlike other elements of the church, this image of the Marededeu of Fai does appear in the various inventories of the monastery preserved since the 16th century.

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The Romanesque cross of Sant Miquel del Fai is a piece of great historical and artistic value dating from the end of the 12th and beginnings of the 13th century. This cross of Catalan Romanesque goldsmithing is especially noteworthy for its craftsmanship, iconography and rarity, as few of this type have been preserved.

It belongs to Sant Miquel Church, although it was moved, after the Confiscation of 1835, to the parish of Sant Vicenç de Riells, where it remained until it was entered into the Diocesan Museum of Barcelona to guarantee its conservation and safety. That is why it is also known as "the Cross of Riells". In the 1990s, a copy was commissioned from the craftsman José Barbero, which is the one displayed today in Sant Miquel del Fai.

It is a Latin cross of the processional type, with an elongated foot and arms widened at their ends, which feature circular medallions. Its original location was probably the church presbytery.

At the front, the central medallion houses the figure of the crucified Christ, represented in a hieratic posture. In the upper medallion, an angel appears with a crystal above it, and between it and Christ is a vertical inscription in Latin, IHS. NAZARE-SUN-REX-IVD-EOR-VM, which refers to Jesus of Nazareth, king of the Jews. The side medallions contain the figures of the Virgin Mary and Saint John in a horizontal position following the elongated axis, which makes it very exceptional and original, while the lower medallion depicts Adam.

On the reverse side, the central figure is the Agnus Dei, a symbol of Christ as a redemptive sacrifice. At the ends of the arms, the four evangelists are represented through their traditional symbols: the eagle of Saint John, the ox of Saint Luke, the lion of Saint Mark and the angel of Saint Matthew, with their Latin names engraved in epigraphic characters.

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In the church of Sant Miquel del Fai, a stone tombstone is preserved attached to the church wall above the arcosolium that contained the tomb of Andreu d'Arbizu, thought to be the last Benedictine monk of the monastery.

The relief of the tombstone, which has come down to us quite deteriorated, depicts two naked angels, with wings and a halo, who hold up with ropes a triumphal laurel wreath or a garland of braided foliage. Within this crown is the heraldic shield with two wolves and eight blades, symbols of the Arbizu family.

The tombstone features a polychromy that is not the original and shows characteristics typical of Renaissance sculpture in Catalonia in its beginnings. The engraved epigraphy confirms its function as a tombstone, with the inscription:

"IC IACET FRATER ANDREAS DE ARBIÇU M / ONECUS VIVS DOM(us) ROGO VOS ORETIS PR / O EO." ("Here rests brother Andreu d’Arbizu, monk of this house, I ask you to pray for him").

According to preserved documentation, Andreu d'Arbizu came from a noble, wealthy family. He lived as a hermit in Sant Miquel del Fai at a time when there was no longer a stable monastic community. This makes him one of the last monks linked to the monastery.

Andreu d'Arbizu founded the benefice of Saint Miquel in the Cathedral of Barcelona and, later, created a perpetual anniversary for his soul and that of all the faithful deceased, thus confirming the existence of his burial place in Saint Michael del Fai.

We do not know exactly when he died, but, thanks to all this information and the stylistic study of the tombstone, it is believed that his tomb was built between 1525 and 1535.

This tombstone has great historical and artistic value, as it is not only an early example of Renaissance sculpture in Catalonia, but also testifies to the last days of monastic life in Sant Miquel del Fai.

In the 16th century, the monastery of Sant Miquel del Fai was secularised by joining the priory of Sant Miquel to the major archdiocese of Girona Cathedral, ceasing to be a monastic space following the Benedictine order and becoming run by priests.

In 1697, the construction of the tomb intended for the priests of Fai, located at the foot of the main altar, was documented. This initiative was promoted during the term of office of Isidor d'Horteu, as indicated by the date carved on one of the slabs, along with the inscription "Burial by the priests of the house" accompanied by the maker's signature: "Petrus Cerapis me facit".

The grave is made up of three stone slabs: the one closest to the altar features a shield with a skull and two crossbones; the central slab contains the aforementioned inscription, while the lower one shows the date, divided into two parts by two crossbones, and the shield with the signature of Pere Cerapi. All three are surrounded by a frame of narrow, elongated stone slabs that delimit the space.

In December 2018 Barcelona Provincial Council acquired the Capbreu of the Benedictine monastery of Sant Miquel del Fai, a document dating from the 14th century and of great historical importance. More information and the video of its restoration.

A ceramic container used as a lipsanotheca or reliquary was found in Sant Miquel del Fai. This is a unique piece, as very few of this type have been identified on the Iberian Peninsula. It is decorated in mould with plant motifs and a Kufic inscription, characteristic of Almohad artefacts, which reads: "THERE IS NO GOD BUT THE ONE ABOVE".

It was discovered in 1991 under the high altar of the church, and contained a fragment of a tibia, whose whereabouts are currently unknown. The jar is a globular-shaped container with a narrow mouth intended to contain liquids. It has a milky, uniform white enamel coating on which a golden decoration with a metallic reflection was applied, which has been partially lost. It was restored by the Conservation and Restoration Laboratory of the Cultural Heritage Office of the Barcelona Provincial Council in 2018 and is in a very good state of conservation.

The piece can be formally and stylistically related to the production of gilded pottery and relief decoration that was made in Almería from the middle of the 12th century. Furthermore, decoration in horizontal registers, with geometric, epigraphic and plant motifs, was common in Almería ceramics of the period, which suggests that this piece could be an import of Almohad origin.

The vessel was not created with a reliquary purpose, but was reused as such at an undetermined later date as part of a new consecration of the temple's high altar at the beginning of the 13th century, although no document has been preserved to confirm this. Its luxurious appearance may have justified its use to contain holy relics.

In reality, there is no document that refers to this lipsanotheca, although we do have evidence of the existence of other relic cases in Sant Miquel, according to the Diario de los Viajes hecho en Cataluña (Journal of the Travels in Catalonia) by Francisco de Zamora at the end of the 18th century. Despite that, this jar stands out as a unique piece of great historical and artistic value, testimony to the reuse of Islamic luxury objects in medieval Christian contexts.

This white marble tombstone, dated to the 11th century, is one of the great enigmas of Sant Miquel del Fai. Despite the various studies carried out, there is no consensus about the identity of the individual to whom the Latin verses inscribed there refer.

The text engraved on the tombstone is a eulogy to a certain Guillem, comparing him to mythical figures such as Paris and Achilles, and highlighting his beauty, courage and nobility. The translation of the Latin verses reads:

“Here you lie, o Guillem, another Paris and another Achilles, no less beautiful nor brave. You, your nobility, your bravery, the glory, the enviable beauty exalted you before your time. Thus it is right to offer the pious vows (on) the mound (where I am) buried, oh young people, of whom I was the glory and praise.”

When Jaume Ripoll publicised the discovery of the tombstone in 1830, it was assumed that it was that of Guillem Berenguer, brother of Count Ramon Berenguer I. However, later studies have cast doubt on this attribution. Given the strong connection between Sant Miquel del Fai and Gombau de Besora and his family, the Guillem mentioned seems to have a direct link with this lineage and could possibly be Guillem II of Santmartí, although this hypothesis has not been confirmed either.

The exact original location of this exceptional piece within the monastery of Sant Miquel del Fai is unknown. We only know that since the 19th century it was embedded in the wall that divides the two last chapels of the church. It has recently been removed and restored by the Restoration and Conservation Laboratory of the Cultural Heritage Office of the Barcelona Provincial Council.

This relief carved in stone depicts the archangel Saint Michael, considered the defender of the Church and prince of the heavenly armies. He is shown dressed as a winged warrior, with a sword and shield, while fighting against a demonic being characterised by the presence of horns on his head and a scaly tail.

The iconography of this scene is based on a passage from the book of Revelations (12, 7-9):

"A battle broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the Dragon. The Dragon also fought with his angels, but lost and there is no longer a trace of them in heaven. Yes, the huge Dragon, the ancient serpent, was cast out. They call him Devil and Satan, and he misleads the whole world. He was flung to earth together with his angels".

This relief presents a scenic composition and formal characteristics that copy the image of the central keystone of the presbytery of the church of Sant Miquel del Fai. This vault, and the renovation of the presbytery that provides it with a system of corridors around it, were carried out coinciding with the secularisation of the monastery and the reactivation of Sant Miquel del Fai as part of the archdiocese of Girona. The keystone of the altar with the scene of the archangel is a Renaissance-inspired relief.

As for the relief, its chronology and exact origin are uncertain, since no documentation has been preserved that provides information about its execution or its exact location in Sant Miquel del Fai.

Among the architectural elements of the church of Sant Miquel del Fai are different column fragments. One of these is a column section with helical grooves, which in the language of the time it was made was known as a "contorted" column, but it would really be more correct to call it "turned" or twisted. 

Helicoidal or twisted columns have always attracted the attention of the public for the decorative technique of the helix, which starts from an octagon that turns as it ascends, ending up forming a helicoid. 

The resource of the twisted column is used in different historical periods from Antiquity, but it is very successful in the late Gothic style, especially in the second half of the 15th century and the early 16th, from the influence exerted by the columns that Guillem Sagrera made for the Llotja of Majorca (1426-1447). Although this type of column will be found throughout the 16th century and also the first half of the 17th, hybridised with classical elements.