San Juan Bautista Church

The Church of San Juan, located at the western end of Calle Real, follows the basical plan model. Although its construction began in the 13th century, only the polygonal apse, the tower and the spectacular cloister remain from that period. At the beginning of the 16th century, the naves were rebuilt to correspond to the "hallenkirche" model, with the three naves at the same height. The impressive vaults and the choir that it has today are a design attributed to Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón, from the middle of the 16th century. Inside are the chapels of the great magnates of the Castilian wool trade with imposing sarcophagi that form a remarkable exhibition of funerary art. These families did great business with the Netherlands, especially in the 16th century, which led to the patronage and importation of numerous works of art from those provinces of the empire. In the chapel of the Gallo family there is a polyptych of twelve oil painted panels, manufactured in Bruges in the 16th century, attributed to Ambrosius Benson and considered a reference of Hispano-Flemish art in Castile and Leon. Also, in the interior of the temple there are six wool tapestries of the XVII century manufactured in Bruges and designed by Cornelius Schutt, disciple of Pedro Pablo Rubens. Among its altarpieces are the main altarpiece, brought in 1810 from the now destroyed convent of San Antón, in Baroque style, and the altarpiece of Santa Ana, the latter by Cristóbal Fernández and Juan de Villareal, Renaissance artists from the circle of Felipe de Vigarny. This church houses in its interior an exhibition of sacred art with works attributed, among others, to Angelo Bronzino or Scipione Pulzone da Gaeta. The monumental complex is completed with a majestic Romanesque cloister of transition of the thirteenth century, covered with a beautiful Mudejar coffered ceiling of the fifteenth century polychrome with figures and coats of arms, and a tower also from the thirteenth century. The monument was declared of cultural interest in 1990.