San Miguel Church ( es, Iglesia de San Miguel Arcángel, translation=Church of St Michael the Archangel) is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

in the Diocese of Cuenca, situated on Ramón y Cajal Baja Street in

Mota del Cuervo Mota del Cuervo is a municipality of Spain located in the province of Cuenca, Castilla–La Mancha. The municipality spans across a total area of 176.19 km2 and, as of 1 January 2020, it has a registered population of 6,055. It is one of the few ...

, province of Cuenca,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. It was declared a

Bien de Interés Cultural A Bien de Interés Cultural is a category of the heritage register in Spain. The term is also used in Venezuela and other Spanish-speaking countries. The term literally means a "good of cultural interest" (" goods" in the economic sense) and incl ...

in 1990.

Architecture

Construction of the church began in the late 15th century and would continue through the 16th and 17th centuries. The visit of the

Order of Santiago The Order of Santiago (; es, Orden de Santiago ), is a religious and military order founded in the 12th century. It owes its name to the Patron Saint of Spain, "Santiago" (St. James the Greater). Its initial objective was to protect the pilgri ...

in 1494, which collaborated in the construction, is very illustrative to look at the state in which the church was at the end of the 15th century. It consists of a hall with three

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

s, each with three

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, par ...

s, an

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...

with two chapels, one on each side, a choir, and a bell tower at one end. The interior walls are simply whitewashed. The reredos behind the altar includes a statue depicting the Archangel Michael and the Devil placed in the centre. There was a golden altarpiece occupying the rear of the main altar during the 16th century, with blue background, statues in their niches and a

tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...

, which was lost without knowing how and why. The exterior is made of ashlar masonry, framing rectangular windows in the central body and circular windows in the chevet. The bays of the naves are covered with ribbed, sail and groined vaults. The choir is elevated forming a portico with three arches. The central elliptical arch is wider than the others, whose intrados is decorated with a rope-like helical motif that denotes a clear influence of the 15th-century Levantine Gothic. The alfarje ceiling is particularly of interest. The church has several chapels, among which are the Chapel of Baptism, with a lowered vault; the Chapel of the Most Blessed Sacrament, of a polygonal plan with ashlar masonry; the Chapel of Solitude with a lunette dome; the Chapel of Jesus the Nazarene and the Chapel of the Christ at the Column. The north portal is constructed in the

Plateresque Plateresque, meaning "in the manner of a silversmith" (''plata'' being silver in Spanish), was an artistic movement, especially architectural, developed in Spain and its territories, which appeared between the late Gothic and early Renaissance ...

style and supported by two large

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral ( ...

es. It has a semicircular arch flanked by paired

Corinthian columns The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order ...

on plinths, an entablature topped by a large scallop shell with pinnacle decoration on both sides. Above the door, two symbols of the Order of Santiago are carved in circles, indicating the Order's collaboration in the construction of the church and in the repopulation of the area. The south portal is much simpler in structure, built in

Doric style The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of col ...

with

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedim ...

and typical

Herrerian The Herrerian style ( es, estilo herreriano or ''arquitectura herreriana'') of architecture was developed in Spain during the last third of the 16th century under the reign of Philip II (1556–1598), and continued in force in the 17th centu ...

spheres as decorative applications.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Roman Catholic churches in Castilla–La Mancha 15th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Spain Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Province of Cuenca