Dominating La Seu d'Urgell's old town is the 12th-century, pale sandstone Santa Maria cathedral – one of Catalonia’s outstanding Romanesque buildings. Its neat cloister, with three original galleries, is rich in characterful carved capitals depicting mythical beasts and grimacing gargoyles. The superb museum within exhibits a wealth of Romanesque frescoes from various churches, and one of just 25 famous medieval illustrated Beatus manuscripts still in existence.
Adjacent to the cloister is the 11th-century Romanesque Església de Sant Miquel, rougher-hewn and pleasantly unembellished; its 13th-century murals now live in Barcelona's Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya.
