Virgen de la Purificación and San Blas Church

As a consequence of the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic Church had to make a great effort to maintain the unity of its faithful and one of its consequences was the spectacular increase in the size of some temples of the Baroque period, such as this one from the second quarter of the 18th century. Its internal structure, composed of three wide naves of equal height, conforms the so-called church-hall typology, so called because it is reminiscent of the large civil buildings for meetings such as commodities exchanges and markets. Other outstanding elements are its chevet, with a vault of segments, and the baroque paintings preserved in its walls and roofs. The façade is the element of greatest artistic value in the exterior view of the building and constitutes a clear example of the baroque façades of this period. Although its elements have a classicist tinge, the way they are combined manages to create a sense of movement by highlighting the vertical axis on the horizontal as well as the contrasts between light and shadow caused by the pillars that advance on the plane of the facade. The tower, built in stone masonry, unlike the rest of the church, is dated 1739 and is divided into two bodies: the first is very high and solid appearance, and the second, plays the role of bell tower.