Iglesia de San Juan Bautista

Monument

Plaza Juan Antonio León García, s/n,. 23760, Arjona How to get

Religious building that rise on the same site, which some scholars and historians attribute, that was the Roman temple dedicated to Bacchus and later Jewish Synagogue. The current temple began to be built in the 16th century, although it was practically destroyed in 1936 as a result of the events that occurred in the Spanish Civil War. Its reconstruction was in the hands of Devastated Regions directed by Fernando Wilhemi Manzano, who modified the plant a lot by adding a more framed bay over two towers, of which only one rose.

This reconstruction has lasted until the beginning of the XXI century, detecting then serious structural problems that forced to demolish the main vault. (Currently under reconstruction).

Currently its interior follows a Neo-Gothic style, with a floor plan of three naves separated by pointed arches that rise on pillars that imitate large jambs, which lead to a rib vault, with the central nave being higher than the lateral ones. The presbytery is elevated and has an altar, in whose central street there is a dressing room in which is the Virgen de los Dolores, patron saint of the town, the work of the Granada-born artist Navas Parejo. Of its primitive construction, only one cover remains, currently placed at the foot of the church, this being not its original location. This portal was made by Juan Marquina in 1531, in the Plateresque style, formed by a semicircular arch with voussoirs decorated by angel sharks, on imposts and the spandrels appear medallions, topped with a round pediment in whose tympanum a niche is arranged, with two emblems that originally belonged to Cardinal Merino, all on Corinthian pilasters decorated with candelieris.

Inside, next to the aforementioned image of Our Lady of Sorrows, we find the image of the owner, San Juan Bautista by Jose Risueño, Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno de Palma Burgos, the Santísimo Cristo de la Expiración by José Garcés or the San Antonio, the work of the Granada-born sculptor Pedro de Mena, to which Navas Parejo added the Child in 1942 (All these images are currently distributed in the different churches of the town, due to the restoration works that are being carried out in the Church of San Juan).

Along with the previously mentioned imagery, we must highlight the Tabernacle, which was made by the Archpriest of Arjona Juan Antonio León, thanks to the donations of gold and silver given by the parishioners in donations around 1950.

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