Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar completes dome work on 5 October
Published on 10/24/2026 at 19:46 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael MĂĽller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWSRestored art and future works
- On 5 October 2026, Fundación Ibercaja and Zaragoza’s metropolitan chapter presented the completed work.
- The Regina Patriarcharum dome and its lantern now show recovered colour and original polychromy.
- The present basilica began in 1681, while Ventura RodrĂguez designed the Holy Chapel from 1750.
- The restoration plan also includes the Santa Leonor tower and further domes.
Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar (BasĂlica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar) in Zaragoza completed the restoration of its Regina Patriarcharum dome on 5 October 2026. The work gives visitors a newly conserved section of the historic church while the wider Pilar 2040 programme continues.
Restoration of Regina Patriarcharum finished on 5 October
FundaciĂłn Ibercaja and the Cabildo Metropolitano de Zaragoza presented the finished restoration on 5 October 2026. The seven-month intervention covered the dome, its pendentives, lantern and upper finial, according to the EFE restoration report.
The project restored the painting and architectural elements together. It also revealed original polychromy in the lantern that had been hidden beneath later overpainting. A new lighting system forms part of the completed work, allowing the painted details to be seen more clearly.
Ramón Bayeu’s 1782 dome marks the visitor route
RamĂłn Bayeu painted the dome in fresco in 1782 under the direction of his brother Francisco Bayeu. It stands in the first section reached after the lower entrance, placing the restored work directly within the visitor route through the building.
The dome belongs to the pictorial programme around the Holy Chapel, where the venerated image of the Virgin is kept. That connection gives the 5 October restoration a direct relationship with one of the church’s central devotional spaces, rather than treating the work as an isolated ceiling repair. Details of the conservation and the dome’s position are reported by El Periodico de Aragon.
A Baroque church shaped by several building phases
The present church was begun in 1681 to plans by Felipe Sánchez and Francisco de Herrera the Younger. The city’s official tourism service records that Ventura RodrĂguez took a decisive role from 1750, redesigning the interior, creating the Holy Chapel and adding domes and towers to the original plan.
The building stands beside the Ebro and combines Baroque planning with Aragonese brick traditions, coloured dome tiles and a later Byzantine influence in its roof profile. Its architectural history is set out by the Zaragoza tourism authority.
Further Pilar 2040 works are planned for Zaragoza
The completed dome is the first presented stage of a longer conservation programme intended to prepare the church for 2040, the bimillennium of the Virgin’s traditional arrival in Zaragoza. The Cabildo has identified Regina Sanctorum Omnium and Regina Virginum as possible next dome projects, subject to their condition.
The announced programme also includes rehabilitation of the Santa Leonor tower. Further work is planned for the central nineteenth-century dome and, on a larger scale, the Holy Chapel and the area around the image of the Virgin.
Visiting Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar: what travellers from Western Europe should know
- The restoration was presented at the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar in Zaragoza on 5 October 2026, and the Regina Patriarcharum dome is the section concerned.
- The completed work concerns the dome, pendentives, lantern and finial; the newly revealed colour and lighting are the practical changes visitors can look for inside the church.
- The building is beside the Ebro in Zaragoza, with the restored dome positioned after the lower entrance and before the Holy Chapel.
- The church combines Baroque architecture, Aragonese brickwork and coloured dome tiles, while the Holy Chapel was designed by Ventura RodrĂguez.
- Spain uses Spanish as its official national language and the euro as its currency.
Searching for Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar on social platforms
These links open searches for Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar on each platform.
Frequently asked questions about Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar
What changed at Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar?
The Regina Patriarcharum dome, pendentives, lantern and finial were restored, with original lantern polychromy revealed and new lighting added in 2026.
When was the restoration presented at Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar?
FundaciĂłn Ibercaja and the Cabildo Metropolitano presented the completed work on 5 October 2026.
Where is Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar and how do you get there?
The church stands beside the Ebro in Zaragoza. The restored dome is in the first section after the lower entrance, on the route towards the Holy Chapel.
