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 PROTECTION STATUS: Asset of Cultural Interest (ACI)

TYPE OF ASSET: Property

CATEGORY: Religious

ARCHITECTURAL STYLE: Mudejar

CONSTRUCTION DATE: 13th century

The Aragonese Mudejar style originated and developed in the 13th century in a process that began with the Christian conquest, impacting the diverse centers of Mudejar art of the Iberian Peninsula in varying manners. Daroca is an important site because evidence of the gradual replacement of churches built after the Christian conquest with others following the Mudejar tradition is limited. In the church of San Juan de la Cuesta, it was not merely a matter of substituting the Romanesque building materials, but rather, adapting the new construction system to add elements from the Islamic tradition. Thus, construction of the Romanesque church dating from the mid-13th century began with the apse, where ashlars were used to start with, switching to brick halfway up.

The apse is drawn on a semicircular plan surrounded by six semicolumns, the upper part of which is made of brick, featuring a frieze of smaller blind arches dotted with small openings that alternate with the arches. The most striking feature is the use of a type of opening with a cusped arch, the oldest of its kind in Mudejar art, which will not persist in the Aragonese Mudejar. There are two openings, one in the central panel of the apse and the other in the straight section of the presbytery wall along the Epistle side: narrow, round arched arrow slit-type openings topped by an arch with seven cusps clearly modeled after the Aljafería in Zaragoza.

Interventions

Restoration, 20th to 21st century In the restoration from 1960, the ancient south portal, an essential part of the original church, was eliminated. A new space was also created on the Gospel side to render the layout more symmetrical, thus completely changing the outer appearance of the temple, especially the portal.

Projects and interventions

Projects and interventions, and the driving forces behind them, define the history of monumental buildings and how they are perceived. The downloadable file shows the current status of review proceedings in progress, making it possible to gradually update the knowledge about each monumental building.

Declarations

Declaration, 21st century The Official Gazette of Aragon (BOA) from October 8, 2001 published Decree 221/2001, of September 18, by the Government of Aragon, declaring the Apse of the Church of San Juan de la Cuesta in Daroca an Asset of Cultural Interest, Monument category.

Bibliography

BORRÁS GUALÍS, G. M. , Arte Mudéjar Aragonés, CAMPZAR y 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. La estética islámica en el arte cristiano, Madrid, 2000. VV.AA. Tierra Mudéjar. El mudéjar aragonés, Patrimonio Mundial, Heraldo de Aragón. D.L., 2002. VV.AA. Campo de Daroca, Colección RUTASCAI por Aragón nº 27, Zaragoza, 2005.