Church of San Pedro Apóstol, Alagón
Plaza de España, 1. 50630 Alagón (Zaragoza)
CURRENT PROTECTION STATUS: Asset of Cultural Interest (ACI)
TYPE OF ASSET: Property
CATEGORY: Religious ARCHITECTURAL
STYLE: Mudejar
CONSTRUCTION DATE: Late 13th century (1287) and first half of the 14th century
CURRENT PROTECTION STATUS: Asset of Cultural Interest (ACI)
TYPE OF ASSET: Property
CATEGORY: Religious ARCHITECTURAL
STYLE: Mudejar
CONSTRUCTION DATE: Late 13th century (1287) and first half of the 14th century
- 14th c.: Initial construction of the church (apse and two-bay nave) and the tower.
- 15th-16th c.: Construction of the choir and two side chapels (Santo Cristo and Virgen del Carmen)
- 2nd half 16th c.: Height of outer walls raised and passageway built
- 17th c.: Construction of two more side chapels (San Antonio and Santa Ana)
The precise chronology is not known due to the lack of documentary sources. However, two historic events took place at this church in Alagón which give us clues as to an approximate timeline. On the one hand, the summoning of the Royal Court to this village in 1287 by king Alfonso III, and on the other, the wedding between king Pedro IV and Maria of Navarre, his first wife, on July 25, 1338. By this latter date, the Mudejar church may have been completely constructed.
We know that it was erected at a time in which the Mudejar style was developing to the fullest in the kingdom of Aragon (late 13th century and 14th century), directly influenced by western Gothic art in terms of the single nave church design.
The church is based on a Mudejar design, with a single nave floor plan with two bays covered by a rib vault. An octagonal tower stands at the west end of the temple.
The apse is pentagonal, or five-sided. It lacks buttresses, reminiscent of the apse in Belmonte de Gracián, and has two large pointed apertures flanking the central opening. The decoration is based on registers of decorative motifs: starting from the bottom, there is a strip of angled brick, a zig-zag series, a strip of hollow crisscrossing shapes, another zig-zag series, a strip of double courses of angled bricks and another strip of hollow crisscrossing shapes. A decorative impost molding runs around the exterior of the outer walls of the nave, under the original eaves.
We know that it was erected at a time in which the Mudejar style was developing to the fullest in the kingdom of Aragon (late 13th century and 14th century), directly influenced by western Gothic art in terms of the single nave church design.
The church is based on a Mudejar design, with a single nave floor plan with two bays covered by a rib vault. An octagonal tower stands at the west end of the temple.
The apse is pentagonal, or five-sided. It lacks buttresses, reminiscent of the apse in Belmonte de Gracián, and has two large pointed apertures flanking the central opening. The decoration is based on registers of decorative motifs: starting from the bottom, there is a strip of angled brick, a zig-zag series, a strip of hollow crisscrossing shapes, another zig-zag series, a strip of double courses of angled bricks and another strip of hollow crisscrossing shapes. A decorative impost molding runs around the exterior of the outer walls of the nave, under the original eaves.
This impost molding can still be seen in certain areas of the walls and on the tower, separating the first and second sections of the tower.
Between the late 15th century and the early decades of the 16th century, the chapels of Santo Cristo and the Virgen del Carmen (now the church entrance atrium) were constructed on either side of the second bay. Another bay was also added to the nave, over which a raised choir was built.
The Santo Cristo chapel has a square plan and is covered by a stellar vault; plasterwork in the form of an impost is seen at the height of the vault springing line and the chapel leads to the nave through a basket arch flanked by two pinnacles.
The Virgen del Carmen chapel displays a combination of Renaissance, Gothic and Mudejar motifs. The entrance to this chapel is through a round arch decorated with sculpted plasterwork that combines western-style Gothic plant motifs, Renaissance grotesques and Mudejar six-sided interlacing decoration.
The arched brick passageway running along the top of the construction on the exterior, which provides a ventilation system for the vaults, is also from this period.
In addition, the Santa Ana and San Antonio chapels are from the Baroque era, while the Virgen del Carmen chapel located adjacent to the church was built in 1831.
Between the late 15th century and the early decades of the 16th century, the chapels of Santo Cristo and the Virgen del Carmen (now the church entrance atrium) were constructed on either side of the second bay. Another bay was also added to the nave, over which a raised choir was built.
The Santo Cristo chapel has a square plan and is covered by a stellar vault; plasterwork in the form of an impost is seen at the height of the vault springing line and the chapel leads to the nave through a basket arch flanked by two pinnacles.
The Virgen del Carmen chapel displays a combination of Renaissance, Gothic and Mudejar motifs. The entrance to this chapel is through a round arch decorated with sculpted plasterwork that combines western-style Gothic plant motifs, Renaissance grotesques and Mudejar six-sided interlacing decoration.
The arched brick passageway running along the top of the construction on the exterior, which provides a ventilation system for the vaults, is also from this period.
In addition, the Santa Ana and San Antonio chapels are from the Baroque era, while the Virgen del Carmen chapel located adjacent to the church was built in 1831.
Interventions
RESTORATION
20th century. From 1998 to 1999, restoration work on the tower and parish church of San Pedro Apóstol began.
- June, 1998: Restoration project of the tower of San Pedro Apóstol
- January, 1999: Restoration project of the parish church of San Pedro Apóstol.
Projects and interventions
Projects and interventions, and the driving forces behind them, define the history of monumental buildings and how they are perceived.
Declarations
DECLARATION, 21st CENTURY (2002)
The Official Gazette of Aragon (BOA) from January 4, 2002 published Decree 352/2001, of December 18, by the Government of Aragon, declaring the church of San Pedro Apóstol in Alagón (Zaragoza) an Asset of Cultural Interest, Monument category.
The Official Gazette of Aragon (BOA) from January 4, 2002 published Decree 352/2001, of December 18, by the Government of Aragon, declaring the church of San Pedro Apóstol in Alagón (Zaragoza) an Asset of Cultural Interest, Monument category.
Bibliography
- AGUADO GUARDIOLA, Elena. El retablo del Santo Cristo de la iglesia de San Pedro de Alagón (Zaragoza): Aportaciones de su restauración a la historia del arte aragonés del siglo XVI. Artigrama. 2006 , nº 21, p. 343-371.
- BORRÁS GUALIS, Gonzalo. Arte Mudéjar Aragonés. Zaragoza: Prames, 2008.
- BORRÁS GUALIS, Gonzalo. Arte mudéjar aragonés. Zaragoza: CAZAR, 1985.
- BORRÁS GUALIS, Gonzalo. El arte mudéjar en la Ribera Alta. La iglesia de San Pedro de Alagón. En HERMOSO CUESTA, Miguel; VÁZQUEZ ASTORGA, Mónica. (coord.). Comarca de Ribera Alta del Ebro. Diputación General de Aragón, 2005.p. 129-133. I
- BÁÑEZ FERNÁNDEZ, Javier. La arquitectura en el reino de Aragón entre el Gótico y el Renacimiento: inercias, novedades y soluciones propias [En línea]. En ALVARO ZAMORA, María Isabel; IBÁÑEZ FERNÁNDEZ, Javier. (coord.). La arquitectura en la Corona de Aragón entre el Gótico y el Renacimiento (1450-1550): Rasgos de unidad y diversidad. Universidad de Zaragoza, 2009.p. 39-95. [Consulta: 14 de junio de 2021]. . Iniciados los trabajos de restauración del ábside de San Pedro. Heraldo de Aragón. 15/08/2015 p. 11.
- LANZAROTE GUIRAL, José María; Arana Cobos, Itziar. Viaje artístico por Aragón de Valentín Carderera: Monumentos arquitectónicos de España. Zaragoza: Institución Fernando el Católico, 2013. PEÑA GONZALVO, Javier. La torre de San Pablo de Zaragoza: ¿Torre-mausoleo de los tuchibíes?. Rolde. enero-junio 2015 , nº 152-153, p. 4-17.
- PÉREZ VIÑUALES, Pilar. Contratos de obra para la iglesia de San Pedro de Alagón. Seminario de Arte Aragonés. 1986 , nº XL, p. 235-241.
- SERRANO PELLEJERO, Lucía . (dir.). El Mudéjar Aragonés, Patrimonio Mundial: Tierra Mudéjar. Zaragoza: Heraldo de Aragón, 2002.
- VAM COMUNICACIONES Inventario de patrimonio de la comarca de la Ribera Alta del Ebro. Inventario inédito, Comarca Ribera Alta del Ebro, 2003-2004.
Appendixes
Church of San Pedro Apóstol
Plaza de España, 1.
50630 Alagón (Zaragoza)
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City Hall: 976 610 300
www.alagon.es
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