Basílica de San Vicente, Ávila

Standing just outside the celebrated medieval walls of Ávila, this Romanesque basilica marks the traditional site of the martyrdom of Saint Vincent and his sisters in Roman times. Built from the eleventh century in warm ochre stone, it is renowned for its richly carved western portal and for the elaborately sculpted stone cenotaph of the martyrs inside, sheltered beneath a canopy. Its transition from Romanesque to early Gothic forms marks an important moment in Castilian architecture, set against the city ramparts.