It is the 14th century and the city of Barcelona is at the peak of its prosperity.
Those who live in the Ribera, a humble neighborhood of fishermen, decide to build the greatest temple to the Virgin Mary ever seen: Santa María de la Mar, Saint Mary of the Sea.
This story parallels the story of young Arnau, a peasant that flees his feudal lord and takes refuge in Barcelona where he becomes a free man, and rich.
But this sparks the envy of a group of people who cast a spell that puts his life in the hands of the Inquisition. From this world marked by religious intolerance, material ambition and social segregation comes a story of intrigue, violence and passion that recreates the chiaroscuro of the feudal period.
A story that does not simply tell of the building of a beautiful church, which the people would call the “The cathedral of the Sea” and the excellent recreation of medieval Barcelona, but also of the harsh life of its main character, who as a slave, ends up becoming an influential person through devotion, suffering, revenge, a loyalty trauma, love, war and conspiracies that make each page an exhilarating experience.
ldefonso Falcones de Sierra, married and the father of four children, is a lawyer who lives and works in Barcelona. The cathedral of the sea is his homage to a people capable of building, in the then unusual span of fifty-four years, what is undoubtedly one of the most lovely churches in the world.
A historical novel that has become an unprecedented bestseller, recognized by both readers and critics, and whose publication rights have been sold to thirty-two countries. The winner of several awards, including the 2006 Silver Euskadi Prize for best Spanish language novel, the 2007 Qué Leer Prize for best Spanish language book of the year, and the prestigious Italian award, Giovanni Boccaccio, for best foreign author of 2007.