The Iglesia arciprestal de Santa María is a former Spanish church in
Alcoy
Alcoy (; ; officially: / ) is an industrial and university city, region and municipality located in the Valencian Community, Spain. The Serpis river crosses the municipal boundary of Alcoy. The local authority reported a population of 61,135 r ...
,
province of Alicante
Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: / ) is a province located in eastern Spain, in the southern part of the Valencian Community. It is the second most populated Valencian province, containing the second and third biggest cities in the Valencian Co ...
. It was constructed in the 18th century at the convent of
St. Augustine
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...
, which was built in the 13th century. In 1936, the building was demolished, losing almost all the pictorial heritage on its walls. The reconstruction began in 1940 and on 19 May 1955, the new church was blessed on the site where the older building had stood, matching its original appearance and using the remains of the previous building.
History
In the first decades of the 18th century, the city decided to construct a large church in Alcoy in the highest area, adjacent to the 14th century convent of Sant Agustí. The church knew its zenith in the late 19th century because of artistic activity in the city due to the patronage of the local entrepreneurs of wool, paper and steel. During the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
, it was vandalized and became municipal property. Inexplicably, it was decided to demolish it. After the war, it was decided to build a new church in the likeness of the former.
Bibliography
* Vicedo Sanfelipe, Remigio, ''Guía de Alcoy'', Imp "El Serpis", Alcoy, 1925.
Remigio Vicedo.- ''El Archivo de Alcoy'' Publicacions de la Universitat d'Alacant
* Berenguer Barceló, Julio, ''Historia de Alcoy'', Llorens, Alcoy, 1977, .
* ''El Alcoy del Siglo XX'', Ciudad de Alcoy, Grupo Z, Alcoy/Alcoi, dep. legal V-1440-2001
* Botella, Pepa; ''Autoretrato con paisaje (Ramón Castañer)'', Ramón Castañer Segura,
lche 2007
Ramón Castañer
See also
*
Catholic Church in Spain
The Spanish Catholic Church, or Catholic Church in Spain, is part of the Catholic Church under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Holy See, Rome, and the Spanish Episcopal Conference.
The Spanish Constitution of 1978 establishes the non- ...
References
External links
Buildings and structures in Alcoy
1955 architecture
1767 in Spain
1955 in Spain
Roman Catholic churches in the Valencian Community
{{Spain-RC-church-stub