KEN FOLLETT AND THE CATHEDRAL OF SANTA MARÍA IN VITORIA

Ken Follett’s fascination with the full-scale restoration of the Cathedral of Santa María in Vitoria began in October 2002, when the writer was invited to the city to give a talk.

At the time, Ken Follett stated, "The restorations of the cathedrals in Europe ought to follow the example of Santa María in Vitoria. Nowhere else in the world can you see anything like it. I wish I had seen this restoration before writing The Pillars of the Earth". The author was amazed by the unique reconstruction model of a temple in plain view of the people. This marked the beginning of a close cooperation between the writer and the Santa María Cathedral Foundation, which has provided him with information on the deterioration of the cathedral – facts which he then put to use in his research for World Without End.

It was also in Vitoria, in a subsequent visit, that Ken Follett announced that he was writing the sequel of The Pillars of the Earth. There he explained that the Cathedral of Santa María had been a great source of inspiration for him and that he would like it to be the venue for the presentation of his novel.