Bell Tower
Highlights of the Cathedral / Bell Tower
Located above the south apse and begun under the mandate of Bishop Roderic Tello (1289-1308), the bell tower is an outstanding example of Gothic architecture. Its floor plan is prismatic and it culminates in an octagonal shape. In total, the bell tower reaches a height of approximately seventy metres.
The best-known bell is the “Capona”, being used to strike the hours and as the prayer bell, and it’s the most loved by the people of Tarragona. It’s located in the upper part of the bell tower, above all the others. The tower is accessed by a spiral staircase from the apse of the Chapel of Saint Oleguer and contains several rooms on top of each other, such as the Room of the Monks, the Room of the Clocks, whose walls feature curious medieval graffiti with nautical scenes, and the Room of the Bells. The Cathedral has a set of seventeen bells, as well as another located in an adjacent belfry, one in the lantern tower, and the bell wheel located in the presbytery.
It’s worth mentioning the manual ringing still carried out by the bell ringers of the Cathedral on special occasions such as the Saint Thecla festivities, displaying a wide repertoire of peals that resound throughout the Part Alta of Tarragona.
