When it was built, in the mid-11th century, the Parish Church of Sant Llorenç de Maçanet had two naves: the main north nave and a smaller south nave, with the corresponding semicircular apses at the east end. The square bell tower is on the north end of the building. The church is entered on the south façade, through a doorway decorated with mouldings and flanked by two pillars.

Today, almost one thousand years later, the structure of the church remains unchanged. Over the course of the last thousand years the crowning of the bell tower has been changed, side chapels have been added to both naves, the sacristy and rectory have been attached, and the naves have been heightened with a fortified wall featuring loopholes. However, the Church of Maçanet, in the heart of the town’s old quarter, essentially remains a Romanesque building.