The origins of the Collegiate Church of Santa María la Mayor de Toro (Zamora) date back to 1139, when Alfonso VII granted the town of Fresno de la Ribera the church of Santa María (Pedrero, 2015). Initially, it was an abbey, but in the first third of the 14th century it was granted the character of collegiate church. According to Gómez Moreno (1980), two masters were involved in its construction: the first one delimited the perimeter of the walls, was in charge of the chevet, the separation of the naves and the lateral doorways. The second master is credited with the western doorway, which was completed around 1240. During the 15th century the Fonseca family obtained the patronage of the collegiate church (Pérez and Vasallo, 2011).
There is no doubt that the collegiate church follows the model of the cathedral of Zamora, although it has some peculiarities such as the cruciform pillars that separate the three naves, a feature found in the cathedral of Salamanca. Likewise, the portal of the Majesty stands out (Hernández, 2009). One of the most distinctive features of this doorway is its polychromy, dating from the last quarter of the 13th century. Thanks to an inscription found on the lintel, the name of the person responsible for its polychromy is known: Domingo Pérez, who did it during the reign of Sancho IV. The iconographic program (Chillon, 1938) of the collegiate church alludes to the Dormition and Coronation of the Virgin, as well as the Last Judgment. It was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in 2010.
Bibliography
CHILLON, Bartolomé (1938): La portada del juicio final de la colegiata de Toro, El Correo de Zamora, Zamora.
GÓMEZ MORENO, Manuel (1927): Catálogo Monumental de España. Provincia de Zamora, Ministerio de Instrucción Pública y Bellas Artes, Madrid.
HERNÁNDEZ, Azucena (2009): "La Portada de la Majestad de la Colegiata de Toro", nº 341, Revista de arqueología.
PEDRERO, Claudio Ignacio (2017): La construcción de la Colegiata de Toro en los siglos XII y XIII, Diputación Provincial de Zamora, Instituto de Estudios Zamoranos "Florián de Ocampo", Zamora.