Finescrollsaw

050 - Santo Domingo de la Calzada cathedral bell tower

This is a scroll saw fretwork pattern for a model of one of the most beautiful bell towers in Spain. It is located in Santo Domingo de la Calzada, a very old historical town in the well-known northern province of La Rioja. The bell tower is next to the cathedral, though due to technical reasons, it had to be erected separated from the cathedral itself.

The history of this town is quite peculiar and interesting. In the 11th century Santo Domingo retired to a beautiful area by the way of St. James to live in meditation and to assist the pilgrims in their way to Santiago. The Spanish word calzada means path. He built numerous bridges in the surroundings, a chapel, a hospital and a pilgrims refuge. The town of Santo Domingo de la Calzada started as a small number oh houses around the little church of the saint. When Santo Domingo died in 1109 the town was already well established. In 1558 the works started to transform the church into a cathedral.

The scroll saw fretwork pattern shown here is the present bell tower of the cathedral. It was built between 1762 and 1769 by the architect Martín de Beratúa after the old gothic one collapsed. It is beautifully ornamented in baroque style with evidences of neoclassical influence. The tower is 209 feet tall and 27 feet wide.

I have designed this pattern with total fidelity to the original monument, adding all possible detail with the only limitation of the wood widths to be used. To achieve such fidelity I have studied drawings and pictures of the tower, to respect all measures, heights, widths and the proportions of all the elements.

The tower is designed to be made either with 1/16, 1/8 and several multiples of 1/8 inches wood or with 1.5, 3 and several multiples of 3 mm wood. The pattern contains detailed indications on how to scale the waste copies depending on the wood thickness to be used. The following table gives the dimensions of the tower depending on the wood thickness you use:

	Height	SIde
1/16 and 1/8 in. wood	56,2 in.	8,3 in.
1,5 and 3 mm wood	135 cm	20 cm
2 and 4 mm wood	180 cm	26.6 cm

This picture has been sent by Ken Tesh from the USA.

Bell tower of Santo Domingo de la Calzada cathedral

Please note that this pattern is registered and copyrighted. If you would like to have it I offer it for 24 € plus shipping. The pattern is computer made, which provides total precision, and nicely printed for convenient scrolling. Please write me to [email protected] to buy this pattern or for any questions.

These images show different details of the tower. It is essential to use at least two contrasting wood colours to achieve a striking visual effect. These five pictures are courtesy of Ken Field from Australia. He has used Mackay Cedar and Jacaranda with a semi glossy finish. His work is outstanding.


These pictures have been kindly sent by Martien van del Els from the Netherlands: " Just finished this fantastic plan. It took me some 100 hours to do it, and I can tell you that your plan is 200 percent correct".	This picture has been sent by Santiago Fernandez from Burgos, Spain.	This picture has been sent by Francisco Vargas de Celis from Puertollano, Spain.	This picture has been sent by Filippo Lolli from Italy.

These pictures have been kindly sent by Vincenzo Divittorio from Italy.

This picture has been sent by Angelo Lerma from Italy.

These pictures have been kindly sent by Matteo Gentile from Italy.

These pictures have been kindly sent by Arlen Goodwine from the USA."The model is constructed of dimensional Basswood and Mahogany plywood. The columns and spindles (120 of them) were turned on a lathe instead of scrollsawing"


This picture has kindly been sent by Jose Rodrigo from Borriol, Castellón, Spain.	This picture has kindly been sent by Evgeny Podniakov from Timoshino, Vologodskaya region, Russia.	This picture has been sent by Giorgio Brusa from Italy.

This picture has kindly been sent by Jesus Herrero from La Virgen del Camino, Leon, Spain.

These pictures have been sent by Gaetano Lavezzo from Italy.


This picture has been kindly sent by Francisco Domínguez Fabre from Barcelona, Spain.	This picture has been kindly sent by Maria del Mar from Membrilla, Spain.	This picture has been kindly sent by Alejandro Hernandez from Salamanca, Spain.

This picture has been kindly sent by Herman Hendrikse from the Netherlands. Materials: Red Cedar, Oak, Oregon Pine, Birch and Copper Plate.