GUIDED VISITS EASTER 2012

This is undoubtedly the single most important architectural complex in the municipality of Alcalà de Xivert, comprising the Church of St John the Baptist, the Belltower and the Parochial Museum.

The building of the church itself and the belltower was onerous and costly for the inhabitants of Alcalà, lasting in all about fifty years. It was paid for by a tithe of one thirtieth of the townspeople's income and voluntary work ("labours for the town"), with no external help whatsoever.

The construction work for the church and belltower were financed by contributions from the inhabitants of Alcalà (one out of every 30 jugs of wine, oil or 25-pound basket of wheat were given over the construction work). These tithes were last paid in the year 1803.

The Church of St John the Baptist was built between 1735 and 1776 on the same spot as the former church. The architects were José Herrero, Antonio Granjer and Joan Barceló.

In the shape of a Latin cross, the interior of the church has three naves divided into five vaulted sections. The central nave has barrel vaults with lunettes.

The decoration is based on Baroque plasterwork and paintings on the ceilings, depicting allegorical and figurative themes. The large central altarpiece was done in 1996 by the painter Vicente Traver Calzada, who uses the beheading of St John the Baptist to reflect the timelessness of violence and evil.

Parochial Museum

The Parochial Museum is inside the church, and contains exhibits of oil paintings, panels and other objects of metalwork and ornaments. This is a treasure of artistic and religious importance, which had been practically lost and precariously stored until its re-discovery, for the benefit today of the town's heritage.

All the works of art and objects exhibited in the Parochial Church come from the local legacy of religious items that were forgotten for centuries and were finally recovered for study and enjoyment.

The museum hall is located in a square area on the first floor of the building. It can be accessed via a stairway that runs from the room next door to the current sacristy. It also has an adjacent room that was once an old archive, that serves as a complementary space for the main museum hall.