Santiponce Itálica

Heritage

An immense legacy waiting to be discovered

San Juan Bautista Church

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The St John Baptist Church must have been founded after the Christians conquered Marchena. It is likely linked to the presence of the Order of St John, first documented in the 13th century. Only the chapel under the tower remains from that original Church.

The three central naves, the tower and the triple apse were built starting in 1490. The three naves are covered by Mudejar coffered ceiling. The two nave-aisles with the chapels were built in 1550. Rodrigo Ponce de León and the Pacheco family funded its construction, as his testament and the coat-of-arms over the Presbytery’s triumphal arch show. The Gothic-Mudejar-style Church has been transformed over time with several additions in the 17th and 18th centuries. In the 1990s, the Church underwent an extensive restoration.

The Church is home to a sacred art heritage of enormous importance, with works by famous, prestigious artists from different periods, including Francisco de Zurbarán (nine paintings in the Sacristy from 1637, commissioned in 1634), Pedro de Mena (Immaculate Conception, 1688), Jorge and Alejo Fernández (Gothic high altarpiece, 1521-1533), Roque Balduque (Tabernacle’s altarpiece, 1556), Francisco de Alfaro (Processional Custody, 1575-1579), Jerónimo de Balbás and Juan de Valencia (Baroque Choir, 1714-1717) and Cristóbal de Morales.

The San Juan Bautista Parish Church was designated a Site of Cultural Interest (BIC) in 1931. 

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