Girola

Girola of the iglesia of St. Mary of the Woods (Francia).

The spinning is a characteristic element of the Romanesque architecture that later became extended to the Gothic. Its usefulness arose with the mass pilgrimage to the places of popular devotion, when a multitude of faithful attended a church and was prepared to venerate the relics that were treasured in her. This corridor provided the necessary flow of circulation so that all could reach to reverence the sacred relics and not to interrupt the religious ceremony that could be officiating in the main chapel.

Normally, at the head of the central nave is placed the presbytery and then the main chapel containing the main altar and forming a semicircular or polygonal apse. In such case, the turn is usually formed by prolongation of the aisles that envelop the apse by its exterior. Sometimes this apse and the turning are not separated by a blind wall, but by an archery that offers permeability to the whole. It is also usual that a series of radial absidioles are arranged around the turning, each of which houses a small chapel.

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