Iglesia de la Asunción

The Church of the Assumption of Cantavieja is a parish church located in the historic center of Cantavieja, in the province of Teruel, Aragon, next to the Plaza Mayor. Although in some tourist directories it may appear generically as a church or hermitage, it is actually the main parish church of the town. The current temple was built in the 17th century, with a Baroque configuration built in masonry and of large size for the urban setting of Maestrazgo. The specialized tourist documentation also indicates that its construction between 1730 and 1745 responded to a project by Antonio Nadal, and that it was built following the model of the basilica of El Pilar. Among its most outstanding elements are its three naves of similar height, the tower at the base, the wide portico open to the south towards the Plaza Mayor and the ambulatory behind the chancel. The doorway combines a semicircular arch with fluted pilasters and pediment, while the tower has two square lower sections and two octagonal upper sections. In this same place there was an old medieval Gothic church, of which the three pointed arches of the portico and a small doorway at the foot of the present church are still preserved. Its patrimonial interest is integrated in the historical-artistic set of Cantavieja, one of the most representative nuclei of the Maestrazgo of Teruel.