To the right of the cathedral is the cloister chapel, where the image of the Madonna of the Cloister, patron saint of the city, is venerated. The statue is a stone carving from the late 12th century, considered one of the most important Catalan Romanesque sculptures. It was created by master Gilabert de Tolosa, one of the leading sculptors of the time. The image stands 105 cm tall. She sits on a throne with the Child on her knee and beneath her feet are two monsters. The image is made of stone and has blackened over the years.
When the Albigensians arrived in the 13th century, the image was hidden for safekeeping in the well of the cloister, whose construction was almost complete. Legend has it that a child fell into the well and was saved by the Madonna, a story that appears to be based on historical fact.
When civil war broke out in 1936, religious images came under threat again. This time, the statue was hidden under the stairs of the bell tower by the ringers Porredon and Augé, with plans to send it to France later, but it was hidden in the garage of the episcopal Palace of Vic. After the war, the image required restoration work because the figure of the child had suffered some damage. The restoration was carried out by Enric Monjo i Garriga.
Today, the celebrations in honour of the Patron Saint, “Festa del Claustre” (a City Festival held on the 7th, 8th and 9th of September) has one of the oldest and most valuable traditional programmes of the Principality, with an extraordinary folk heritage. It is regulated by a strict protocol signed by the three management entities of the celebration (the Brotherhood of the Cloister, the Giants of the City of Solsona and the City Council), which seek to protect and establish guidelines for the celebrations.