San Miguel Church, Mota del Cuervo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids San Miguel Church, Mota del Cuervo |
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| Iglesia de San Miguel Arcángel | |
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Iglesia de San Miguel
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| 39°29′55″N 2°52′15″W / 39.4987°N 2.8707°W | |
| Location | Calle Ramón y Cajal Baja, 32, Mota del Cuervo, Cuenca |
| Country | Spain |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| History | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Founded | 15th century |
| Dedication | Saint Michael the Archangel |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Administration | |
| Archdiocese | Toledo |
| Diocese | Cuenca |
The San Miguel Church (also known as the Church of St Michael the Archangel in Spanish) is a beautiful old church in Mota del Cuervo, a town in the province of Cuenca, Spain. It's a Roman Catholic church that belongs to the Diocese of Cuenca. This important building was officially recognized as a Bien de Interés Cultural (a site of cultural interest) in 1990.
Contents
Discovering the Church's Design
Building the San Miguel Church started a very long time ago, in the late 1400s. Work continued through the 1500s and 1600s. Records from the Order of Santiago in 1494 show how the church looked back then. This group helped a lot with its construction.
Inside the Church
The church has a large main hall with three long sections, called naves. Each of these sections has three smaller parts, known as aisles. At the end of the church, there's a rounded area called an apse, with two small chapels on each side. There's also a choir area and a tall bell tower.
The inside walls of the church are simply painted white. Behind the main altar, there's a special screen called a reredos. It has a statue of Saint Michael the Archangel defeating the Devil in the middle. In the 1500s, there was a golden altarpiece here, but it was lost a long time ago.
Outside the Church
The outside of the church is made from large, carefully cut stones called ashlar masonry. You can see rectangular windows in the middle part and round windows at the back. The ceilings inside the church are made with different types of arched roofs, like ribbed, sail, and groined vaults.
The choir area is raised up and has a porch with three arches. The middle arch is wider and has a cool rope-like design. This design shows the influence of a style from the 1400s called Levantine Gothic. The wooden ceiling, known as an alfarje, is also very interesting to see.
Special Chapels
The church has several smaller chapels, which are like mini-churches inside.
- The Chapel of Baptism has a low, curved ceiling.
- The Chapel of the Most Blessed Sacrament has a many-sided shape and is also made of cut stone.
- The Chapel of Solitude has a dome with curved sections.
- There are also the Chapel of Jesus the Nazarene and the Chapel of the Christ at the Column.
Church Entrances
The church has two main entrances, or portals.
- The north portal is built in a fancy style called Plateresque. It has a round arch with pairs of tall, decorated columns on each side. Above the door, you can see two symbols of the Order of Santiago carved into circles. These symbols remind us that the Order helped build the church and settle the area.
- The south portal is much simpler. It's built in the Doric style and has a triangular top part called a pediment. It also has round, decorative balls, typical of the Herrerian style.
See also
In Spanish: Iglesia de San Miguel (Mota del Cuervo) para niños
