Iglesia de Santa María de los Reyes

The Church of Santa María de los Reyes is the parish church of Laguardia, in Álava, located at the northern end of the historic center, between Mayor, Páganos and Santa Engracia streets. The official tourist documentation identifies it as a Catholic temple of great patrimonial relevance and not as a hermitage. Its construction began in the late twelfth century in Romanesque style, but the work was completed in the fifteenth century, so the building has a combination of Gothic and Renaissance elements, with some later reforms of the Baroque period. The church preserves a rectangular floor plan with three naves, transept and apse, and was modified in the 16th century with the reconstruction of the chancel and the incorporation of a Renaissance sacristy. The most outstanding element of the complex is its polychrome portico, built in stone at the end of the 14th century and polychromed in the 17th century. This Gothic doorway, protected by the rear closure of the atrium, is one of the best known artistic jewels of Laguardia for its rich figurative and vegetal decoration. Also outstanding is the main altarpiece, the work of Juan de Bascardó, made in the 17th century with late Renaissance language and transition to Baroque. The building summarizes the artistic evolution of the medieval temple to the Renaissance in one of the most important religious monuments of the town.