Apse of the Church of San Juan de la Cuesta, Daroca

Apse of the Church of San Juan de la Cuesta

Calle Mayor 44, 50360

CURRENT CATEGORY OF PROTECTION:
Bien de Interés Cultural (BIC)

TYPE OF PROPERTY: Real estate

CATEGORY: Religious

ARCHITECTURAL STYLE: Mudejar

DATE OF CONSTRUCTION: 13thCentury

The period of genesis and formation of Aragonese Mudejar art took place during the 13th century, in a process that began with the Christian conquest and which affected the different centres of Mudejar art in the Iberian Peninsula in different ways.

Daroca is an important place, as few of the testimonies of the process of replacing the churches built after the Christian conquest with others in the Mudejar tradition have survived. In the church of San Juan de la Cuesta, there was not a simple substitution of construction material in the Romanesque building, but rather the adaptation of the new construction system with elements from the Islamic tradition.

Thus, the Romanesque church dates from the mid-13th century, and its construction began in the apse, using ashlar stone, interrupted at mid-height to continue the brickwork.

It is a semicircular apse with six semi-columns, replaced at the top by brick, with a frieze of blind arches, except for a few small openings that alternate with the arches. The most significant feature is the use of a type of opening that uses the lobed arch, constituting the oldest example in Mudéjar art, and which will not be continued in Aragonese Mudéjar: there are two openings, one in the central section of the apse and another in the straight section of the presbytery in the wall of the epistle, semicircular lobed arches with little light, which are doubled by a seven-lobed arch, with a clear reference in the Aljafería in Saragossa.

Interventions

Restoration, 20th Century to 21st Century

It was restored in 1960 in which the original south doorway, an essential element of the original church, was removed. A new space was also opened up on the Gospel side to obtain greater symmetry of the whole, completely altering the external appearance of the church and especially the doorway.

Projects and interventions

Projects and interventions and their promoters define the history of monumental buildings as well as the perception of them.

The downloadable document presents the current status of the files under review, which will allow us to update our knowledge of each of the monumental buildings.

Declarations

Declaration, 21st Century

The Official Gazette of Aragon of 8 October 2001 published Decree 221/2001 of 18 September 2001, of the Government of Aragon, declaring the Abside of the Church of San Juan de la Cuesta in Daroca to be an Asset of Cultural Interest, in the category of Monument.

Bibliography

BORRÁS GUALÍS, G. M. Arte Mudéjar Aragonés, CAMPZAR and Colegio Oficial de Arquitectos Técnicos y Aparejadores de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, 1985, T. II, pp. 156

MAÑAS BALLESTÍN, FABIÁN (COORD.). Comarca del Campo de Daroca, Colección Territorio 8, Diputación General de Aragón, 2003.

VV.AA. El Arte Mudéjar. Islamic aesthetics in Christian art, Madrid, 2000.

VV.AA. Mudéjar Land. El mudéjar aragonés, Patrimonio Mundial, Heraldo de Aragón. D.L., 2002.

VV.AA. Campo de Daroca, Colección RUTASCAI por Aragón nº 27, Zaragoza, 2005.