We were back to my dear Spain again !! love it !! We never had stop coming for many years after living in it with my dear late Mom, came with my dear late wife and then my dear late Dad and then boys and will do until I am gone, I like to continue the saga of our road warrior experiences even if now with less in our family, This post is on my latest road warrior tour of wonderful sublime Spain. Behold, found me a picture in my cd rom vault not yet in my blog and it should be for you and me The City of Ávila is the capital of the province of Avila in the Autonomous Community of Castilla y León in the kingdom of Spain. Therefore, let me tell you about the Church San Juan Bautista of Ávila !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
The Church de San Juan Bautista is located at Calle Martín Carramolino, 1, It is one of the oldest churches within the walls of the city of Ávila. It is located at the southern end of the Mercado Chico (Small Market). It is a Romanesque church, but extensively remodeled in the 16C in the Gothic style. The apse and the transept chapels are in the Renaissance-Herrerian style. Inside, the baptismal font in which Teresa de Cepeda and Ahumada aka Santa Teresa de Jesús born in the city, was baptized on April 4, 1515 in a Gothic font (15C) that is still preserved.
The brick tower, erected at the end of the 17C, stands out on the north façade. The main portal follows the typical late Gothic style, organized with archivolts that, very much in the Ávila tradition, are decorated with spheres and flowers. The large central nave is covered with a star-shaped ribbed vault; later chapels, with formal details characteristic of the Herrerian style, line both sides. Its importance during the Middle Ages is evidenced by the fact that the main Ávila families were affiliated with this parish, and that the atrium, which faced the present-day Mercado Chico , served as the meeting place for the city council.
It was built in the 12C,and underwent a major reconstruction at the beginning of the 16C. The tower was rebuilt and renovated successively in 1692, 1732, and 1918. The church nave, wide and slender, has three bays, with chapels added on both sides, The portal and the western façade date from the same period, with buttresses, an oculus for lighting the nave, and a portal with semicircular archivolts with plain moldings and decoration of pomegranates and spheres, as are the small columns and the spaces between them. From the purist period of the Renaissance are two other sections of the nave , the transept and main chapel) covered with barrel vaults with lunettes in which oculi are opened. From the 16C are two small chapels with Ionic pilasters and covered with shell-shaped domes on pendentives.
The City of Avila on tourism info : https://www.avila.es/ciudad/portales-turismo/turismo-en-avila-es
The Avila tourist office on the Church San Juan Bautista : https://www.avilaturismo.com/que-ver/san-juan-bautista
The Castilla y Léon regional tourist office on the Church San Juan Bautista : https://www.turismocastillayleon.com/en/heritage-culture/churches-chapels/parish-church-san-juan-bautista-6365
The Unesco world heritage site on the old town and intramuros churches of Avila : https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/348/
There you go folks , another wonderful nostalgic, sentimental trip to my dear Spain, Do not know when we will be back, but eventually we will, Again, hope you enjoy this post on the Church San Juan Bautista of Ávila !!! as I
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
