Santo Domingo church
Located in "Plaza de España", at the town center, it was declarated historic-artistic monument by Royal Decree 83/1985 (17th April). In the beginning was a Dominican conventual church and currently is dedicated to Santo Domingo. Although is unknown its construction date, is believed that it was founded in the early XVI century by Mrs. Teresa de Guzmán, Duchess of Béjar, by way of penance. Probably it was built over an older building.
From its original moorish style, it´s described as a church of arcade with bishops, scarcely any remains as consequence of the different restorations that it has suffered.
The west door stands out due to its monumentality and where coexist Moorish and Baroque styles. The belfry, destroyed by the Lisboa´s earthquake, was built in 1779, according to the inscription "se acabó en el año 1779" (it was finished in 1779), following the predominant architectural canons. The bell tower consist of three sections. The first one with three basket-handle arches without bells. The second and third ones, with semicircular arches between Turcan pilasters, with bells and topped by a tiny spire. The others two facades are characterized by the simplicity of its lines.
The church, with rectangular base and three naves, follows the traditional liturgical tilt eastbound. The ceilings show lines which are on the catalog of the late medieval and modern architecture, emphasizing the geometric motives that follow the models of the Renaissance. The three naves have edge stitches vaults, built after the original wooden ceilings collapsed in 1946. The central nave, higher and wider than the others, is topped with flat header apse.
The current sacramental chapel is dedicated to the virgin "La Bella", Lepe´s pattern, who chairs the nave called "Evangelio" (Gospel), which is closed by a wrought iron fence from XVII century, covered with edge vault with geometric decoration. Its altarpiece, destroyed during the Civil War, cames from the old Franciscan monastery, located near to "El Terrón". It´s only remained the salomonic columns that frame the central arch and the dressing room from rococo style. On the side streets there are paths niches with sculptures of sacred heart of Jesus and San Roque, pattern of the town, which dated from 1600.
Popularity the origin of the virgin is linked with an old tradition, which tells that few emissaries hand it over to the Franciscan convent monks of "El Terrón". It´s not a very usual image, typical from Spain and Southern of France. It´s an Eucharistic effigy, which has a tabernacle in the chest, alluding to the months that Maria had Jesus on her womb. It´s a seated sculpture, totally carved and polychrome, its stylistic features can be dated from XVI century, linked to Jorge Fernández Alemán circle.
It was the main image of the disappeared Franciscan monastery. The devotion to this Marian image exceeded the local limits to spread throughout the region to reach U.S. Territory, Puebla de Los Ángeles o Valle del Iraní, in Bolivia.
Should be mentioned too, a ceramic tile representing the calvary, whose iconography has comprehensive medieval rewies, and a canvas of the "Inmaculada del Caballero Arpino", from around 1600.
The right apse chapel, from Moorish style, is covered by an octagonal dome on horns and a gate of wrought iron. Chairing the altarpiece of the Nazarene, there is a image which is work of José Navas-Parejo and to the right is the altarpiece of the "Piedad", which is a great beautiful sculpture from the disappeared Dominican convent. It´s an anonymous work of Seville´s school of XVII century.
The side chapels include pictures of Child Jesus, from Martínez Montañés school, and also from the convent of "Piedad" or "Esperanza" from XVII century.
The main chapel has a square floor and is covered with hemispherical vault above scallops. Its altarpiece, from the end of XVII century, from the disappeared Piedad´s convent, is a section with three streets of gilded and polychrome wood. Appear inside the sculptures of Santo Domingo, from XVI century, San Juan Evangelista and San Cayetano.