Church of Saint Mary Magdalene in Valdeavellano
Valdeavellano (Guadalajara)GPS: 40.664798736572266, -2.9697399139404297
MAIN ATTRACTIONS
This small Alcarreña town is located on the meadow of the Tajuña river valley and it is easily accessed from the provincial capital. The inhabitants of Valdeavellano are proud to show their visitors the pillory in the Main Square, declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in the category of monument, formed by a column of the Tuscan order with a striated shaft and the capital with four lion heads.
WHAT WE’LL SEE
The highlight of this town is the Romanesque church of Saint Mary Magdalene, later reformed in the 16th and 17th centuries. It preserves the semicircular apse with two small windows and a cornice decorated with brackets. Six semicircular archivolts form the South facade of the temple, which is also decorated with other typical Romanesque elements such as the zigzag moulding and interlacements. The capitals are also intriguing because in addition to plant motifs, there are two with figurative decorations. Specifically, a shepherd playing the flute surrounded by goats, and another with a goat and a dog up in a tree. Inside, we will find more Romanesque elements in the baptismal font and in the paintings on the beams of the high altar with plant decoration, scrolls and figurative themes of men at battle, musicians, etc,… All done in the 13th century.
ACCESS
Free access; ensure to respect the hours of worship.
OUR RECOMMENDATIONS
The townspeople are equally as proud of the other religious buildings, such as their hermitages of the Virgin of Solitude, on the road to Atanzón, and that of Saint Roche, behind the church. From here we can take a path that leads us to another hermitage, that of Santo Cristo, nowadays abandoned and without worshipers.
