Iglesia de San Pedro, Villar de los Navarros

Church of San Pedro,
Villar de los Navarros

Plaza de la Iglesia. 50156 Villar de los Navarros

CURRENT PROTECTION CATEGORY: BIC

TYPE OF PROPERTY: Real estate

CATEGORY: Religious

ARCHITECTURAL STYLE: Mudejar

DATE OF CONSTRUCTION:

Original construction, 15th century
In the 15th century the Mudejar temple and the tower attached to its feet were built, which is one of the most outstanding elements of the church. The last four bays of the central nave, the choir raised at the foot of the church, some remains of paintings and scribing inside the church and the curious bell tower are preserved from this primitive phase.

Enlargement, 16th century
During the first half of the 16th century, the first reform of the church was carried out, in which the central nave was enlarged by a section towards the chancel, a new polygonal apse was built and the sacristy was constructed.

Enlargement, 18th century
The third phase or Baroque reform, carried out at the beginning of the 18th century, completely modified the initial state of the church, as it went from a single-nave church to a three-nave church with the construction of two side naves, as well as the construction of new service rooms attached to the chancel.

Destruction, 20th century (1936-1939)

In the centre of the village of Villar de los Navarros stands the parish church of San Pedro, which dates back to the 15th century. The current construction is the result of two extensions to the original Mudejar building in the 16th and 18th centuries.

The church of San Pedro has a polygonal apse chevet covered by a star-shaped ribbed vault, to which are attached on the east and south sides the rooms used for services and on the north side the sacristy. The body is made up of three naves, of which the central nave, taller and wider than the side naves, is divided into five bays, the last four of which are covered by simple ribbed vaults with diagonal ribs resting on irregular cruciform pillars, while the first bay is covered by a star-shaped ribbed vault with tercelets and cambered vaults.

The side naves are divided into four bays covered by domes on pendentives with lanterns, opening onto the central nave through semicircular arches. The choir is located at the foot of the nave, the walls of which have preserved the remains of Mudejar stonework in which motifs of mixtilinear loops and interlaced Gothic quadrilobes can be distinguished.

On the outside, the simple façade of the church is made up of two sections: the lower section has a semicircular entrance arch and the upper section has a niche with a carving of the patron saint as the central motif. The bell tower, attached to the foot of the church and built in the first decades of the 15th century, has a curious layout; it is a main tower with the function of a bell tower to which is attached a secondary tower of smaller proportions that houses the stairwell with a spiral structure.

The main tower, with a square floor plan, has a Christian internal structure, that is, a hollow tower divided into five superimposed square-plan rooms, whose height decreases in elevation, covered with simple ribbed vaults with octagonal diagonal ribs and without keystones, and not connected to each other, which can only be accessed through the spiral staircase sheltered in the secondary tower. The ornamental elements on the exterior form large panels, especially at the top of the main tower. The most frequently used motifs include friezes of simple angled arches, double-thread zigzag strips, intertwined mixtilinear arches and crosses forming lozenges. This main tower has a crenellated top and a pyramidal spire.

Interventions

Restoration, 20th Century to 21st Century

During the years between 2000 and 2002 the restoration of the church tower was carried out, which was promoted by the Diputación de Zaragoza, the Diocese of Zaragoza and the Villafeliche Town Council. The investment amounted to 120,202 euros.

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 church of San Pedro in Villar de los Navarros was declared a provincial monument of historic-artistic interest by Order of the Ministry of National Education on 31 May 1961, published in the Official State Gazette of 19 August 1961.

The Official Gazette of Aragon of 14 August 2002 published the Order of 9 July 2002, of the Department of Culture and Tourism, which completes the original declaration of the Church of San Pedro in Villar de los Navarros (Zaragoza) as an Asset of Cultural Interest, in accordance with the First Transitional Provision of Law 3/1999, of 10 March, on Aragonese Cultural Heritage.

Bibliography

BORRÁS GUALIS, GONZALO M. Aragonese Mudejar Art , Aragonese Basic Collection, Guara, Zaragoza, 1987, pp. 192.

BORRÁS GUALIS, GONZALO M., Arte Mudéjar Aragonés, Caja de Ahorros y Monte de Piedad de Zaragoza Aragón y Rioja and the Colegio Oficial de Aparejadores y Arquitectos técnicos de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, 1985.

SANMIGUEL MATEO, AGUSTÍN. Torres de ascendencia islámica en las comarcas de Calatayud y Daroca, Centro de estudios bilbilitanos, Institución “Fernando el Católico”, Calatayud, 1998.

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