MAIN ATTRACTIONS
108 km from Toledo in the region of la Mancha, we arrive at this town of more than three thousand inhabitants. Dedicated for a long time to viticulture production, the visitor can see throughout the landscape some huts that served as tool sheds or as refuge from bad weather. For the outsider’s visit to the town, the most intriguing will be the Gothic church of Saint James the Apostle, built in the 16th century.
WHAT WE’LL SEE
The exterior appearance of the church is reminiscent of a fortress with its buttresses attached to the high walls made of ashlar. The floor of the church is almost square and is divided into three naves separated by thick columns of smooth shafts and decorated capitals that support the ribbed vaults. The main altar, renaissance, preserves a beautiful 14th century sculpture of “The Pity”. In the rest of the urban center of the town we can also highlight the pillory in calle Mayor, known as “los perretes”, the granary of Simón de Villanueva, the house of la Tercia on calle de los Mártires, and the Abrevadero fountain on calle Goya. Around the Main Square you can also see some noble houses and mansions, examples of its agricultural past.
ACCESS
Access is open to the whole urban ensemble. For the church, make sure to respect the hours of worship.
OUR RECOMMENDATIONS
Do not leave Villanueva without seeing one of its three hermitages, and if you have time all of them. San Isidro and San Roque, outside the town. San Roque preserves a lovely coffered ceiling and here they celebrate the patron saint festivals the 23rd of April, and they give out typical candy called “caridades”. Nuestra Señora de la Gracia is the third, in a neoclassicist style.
