San Juan el Real, Calatayud facts for kids
San Juan el Real, which means St John the Royal, is a beautiful Baroque-style church. It is a Roman Catholic church found in the city of Calatayud, in the Aragon region of Spain.
A Look Back in Time
This church was first built by the Jesuit order, a group of priests. They dedicated it to the Virgen del Pilar, a special religious figure.
However, in 1769, the Jesuits had to leave Spain. After they left, the people of the town decided to use this church as their main local church. It replaced an older church from the 1100s called San Juan de Vallupié, which was in ruins. That's when they changed the church's name to San Juan el Real.
Art and Design
The outside of the church is made of brick and looks quite simple. It has tall, pointed towers on top. The church is shaped like a Latin cross inside, and its walls are decorated with stucco, which is a type of plaster.
The bell tower of the church was built later, between 1774 and 1777. It uses the mudéjar style, which is a mix of Christian and Islamic art. This style was popular in Spain a long time ago. The tower's design matched other towers in Calatayud. A designer named Mosén José Jimeno from Ateca created its plans. You can see that the higher parts of the tower have more decorations.
When the church became a parish church in 1769, its inside decorations were not finished yet. The main altar, which is the most important part of the church, is a beautiful Baroque artwork. It was created by an artist named Gabriel Navarro.
Just under the main dome of the church, there are four special curved areas called pendentives. These areas have oil paintings by a young artist named Francisco de Goya. He painted them in 1766. The paintings show four important religious leaders: Saints Augustine, Ambrose, Hieronymus, and Pope Gregory the Great.
At first, another artist, Francisco Bayeu, was supposed to do these paintings. But he had to go back to Madrid. So, the job went to Goya, who was only twenty years old at the time. He used Bayeu's ideas for his paintings. Over time, the paintings became dark, but they have recently been cleaned and restored.
In the center of the church, there are two large paintings. One is called the Immaculate Conception by Joseph Luzán. The other is a painting of St John by an artist whose name we don't know. Another painting by Luzán used to be there, but it was removed because its subject was not approved by the church at that time. The frame from that painting was used again for another artwork.
The main entrance of the church is in the Renaissance style. It probably came from an older church called San Salvador. Above the door, there is a small space with a statue of St John, made between 1774 and 1777. You can also see the symbol of King Ferdinand VI there.
The sacristy, which is a room where the priests prepare for services, is now a museum. It shows off many beautiful Baroque artworks.
See also
In Spanish: Iglesia de San Juan el Real (Calatayud) para niños
