Santa María (Ateca) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Church of St Mary |
|
|---|---|
| Native name Spanish: Iglesia de Santa María |
|
.jpeg) |
|
| Location | Ateca, Spain |
| Type | Non-movable |
| Criteria | National monuments of Spain |
| Designated | January 12, 1983 |
| Reference no. | RI-51-0004782 |
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
The Church of St Mary, also known as Iglesia de Santa María, is a Roman Catholic church. You can find it in the town of Ateca, in the province of Zaragoza, Spain. It belongs to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tarazona.
This church is a very old building from the Middle Ages. It was built in a special style called Mudéjar. This style mixes Christian and Islamic ways of building. Many buildings in this style are found in the region of Aragon. However, this church is not part of the famous Mudéjar Architecture of Aragon World Heritage Site.
Contents
Discovering the Church of St Mary
The Main Church Building
This church is like a fortress church from the 1200s. It is mostly built with bricks. The main part of the church has one long hall. At the end, it has a seven-sided area called an apse. Over many years, more parts were added to the church.
Two of the first small prayer rooms, called chapels, are still there. These are the Ciria and Ramírez chapels. Four more chapels were built later, two on each side of the church.
Special Chapels and Art
One important chapel is the Chapel of the Virgen de la Peana. It has a beautiful style from the 1500s. Inside, you can see two very large paintings. One shows the Virgen de la Peana from the 1700s. The other shows La Soledad. Both paintings have been carefully cleaned and fixed recently.
The La Soledad painting is amazing because it looks like real buildings. But it's actually just painted canvases! It has clever tricks and curtains that can move up and down. Under the image of La Soledad, you'll find the "Christ of the Cradle" statue. This statue is very important for Holy Week in Ateca. It was carved around 1661.
Next to the La Soledad chapel is the Chapel of the Virgin of the Pillar. It has an altarpiece from the 1600s. Across from it is the Chapel of the Child Jesus. The path to the bell tower is right next to this chapel.
The Choir and Organ
The back part of the main hall, where the choir sings, was added in the 1500s. This section was built to be very strong, like a castle. It's made of limestone, unlike the rest of the church. It even has a gallery with pointed arches at the top.
The church also has a beautiful old organ from the late 1700s. It was built between 1798 and 1802. This organ has been fully restored and sounds wonderful. It is located in the choir area. Below the organ, you can see the baptismal font.
The Main Altar and Ancient Paintings
The main altarpiece is dedicated to the Assumption of Mary. It's a large, decorated screen behind the altar. It was made in the mid-1600s. During a restoration in 2012, very old Mudéjar paintings were found in the church. These are the oldest Mudéjar paintings in Aragon!
Above the choir, there is a painted Gothic statue of Christ from the late 1300s. It is very well made. Also, there are altarpieces of Santa Quiteria (from 1574) and the Annunciation (from the late 1500s). You can also see some old silver objects and a red velvet suit from the 1500s.
The Bell Tower
The bell tower of Santa Maria de Ateca is a famous example of Mudéjar style in Aragon.
Tower Structure and History
The tower has a square base and two clear parts. The bottom part of the tower looks like an Almohade minaret. Some experts think it might be a real Almohade tower from the late 1000s. This would mean it was part of an older mosque that was there before the church. Other experts believe it's a Mudéjar tower from the 1200s.
What makes this tower special is how it's built. Unlike other towers with a central pillar, this one has an inner tower inside the outer one. Stairs connect the two towers. The inner tower has four rooms stacked on top of each other.
Tower Decorations
The outside of the lower tower is decorated with many patterns. These include pointed horseshoe arches and shapes like squares and spikes. It also has colorful ceramic bowls and pots in green and honey colors. During a recent restoration, hidden old plates called ataifores were found inside the tower. These plates had decorations from the Caliphate era. This discovery supports the idea that the tower might be a very old Almohade tower from the 1000s.
Originally, this tower was separate from the church. It was connected to the church when the church was made bigger in the 1500s.
Upper Tower and Importance
The top part of the tower is a Baroque addition. It was built to replace an older bell section. The whole church and tower were declared a site of Cultural Interest (a protected monument) on January 12, 1983.
See also
In Spanish: Iglesia de Santa María (Ateca) para niños
- List of Bien de Interés Cultural in the Province of Zaragoza
