The palace was built on the old Corpus Christi hospital plot, one of the medieval hospitals in the city. In 1558 the city underwent changes with the arrival of Bishop Esteban Almeyda el solar, and the hospital was moved to the parish of Santiago. Its construction probably began at the beginning of the XVI century, soon after the bishopric in Orihuela. It underwent notable alterations in the XVIII century under the orders of the bishops José Flores Osorio and Pedro Albornoz Tapia. It lost its original functionality halfway through the XX century and it was restored at the beginning of the XXI century, and at present it is the head office of the Diocesan Museum of Sacro Art. It is the biggest palace in the city, with a rectangular shaped floor built around three courtyards. There is a hierarchy system of floors visible in the main façade, which can be seen in the size of the gaps and the materials used. The main doorway is of particular interest, with the shield of the bishop Obispo José Flores Osorio. At the back of the building, which looks onto the river, there is a gallery with half pointed arches. The indoor cloister with heraldic decoration is worth a mention, as is the main stairway with its red Alicantine marble and the dome over an octagonal drum whose glazed royal blue tiles can be seen from the outside.
Built on a Jesuit school, this building was built by religious orders from the Royal Visitation in Madrid, under the patronage of Mr Carlos María Isidro de Borbón and his wife Ms María de Asís de Braganza y Borbón. Neoclassic in style, it was built between 1826 and 1832. The facade is built using red and black marble and the flags of Spain and Portugal can be seen, as well as the Saints Frances of Sales, Carlos Borromeo, Joan de Chantal and Frances of Asís. Inside the church, which boasts a latin cross floor, there is an interesting collection of religious themed pictures by the court painter, the Valencian Vicente López.
Built on the ancient Moorish mosque, it was initially built as a parish church, and went on to become used by archpriests (1281), as a school (1413) before eventually becoming the cathedral (1510). Construction began at the end of the XIII century. It can be classified as typically Levantine gothic in style, with its three naves crossing and ambulatory, transformed by Pepe Compte at the beginning of the XVI century. It also boasts chapels between buttresses, the grille and baroque organ, work of Nicolás Sandoval and Martín de Usarralde, with the casket by Jacinto Perales, and the choir seats are attributed to Juan Bautista Borja and Tomás Llorens (1716-1734), where various relics such as busts are safeguarded. On the outside we can see the tower which was built somewhere between the end of the XIII century and the start of the XIV century. There are also three main doorways: the XIV century Door of Chains (la Puerta de las Cadenas), the XV century. The door of Loreto (la Puerta de Loreto) and the Door of the Annunciation (la Portada de la Anunciación), which was finished by Juan Inglés in 1558.
According to tradition, this sanctuary was built on the old Gothic parish of Saint Julian when a picture of the Virgin was discovered after the city had been reconquered. The old hermitage, or church was not built before the XV century and it is thought that it was in the place of the current crossing and the Hallazgo chapel or the 'Capilla del Hallazgo'. In 1747 the old temple was demolished and the present one built between 1750 and 1776 by Bernardo Rippa, with important refurbishment work being carried out throughout the XX century. It is a baroque temple, with a Latin cross floor and neoclassic façade, with an anagram of our Lady of Monserate (Ntra. Sra. de Monserrate). Orihuela turistica Inside the Hallazgo chapel is the cave where it is said that the Virgin Mary appeared and above this, the old niche which is dedicated to the Christ of the Good Death (Cristo de la Buena Muerte). The niche of the Virgin of Monserrate, patron saint of the city is in the main altar.
The hamlet of Alicante, called Monnegre, is located north of the municipal area and separated from it by those of Muchamiel and San Vicente del Raspeig. On the edge of the CV-819 road was located the old hermitage of Chapitel (Our Lady of the Desamparados), later, at about 600 meters, in the vicinity of the channel of the Monnegre River are a series of buildings, currently in ruins, of considerable dimensions. It is popularly known as "Casa Grande" and "Casa del Cura de Monnegre" although in various cartographies it is designated as "Casa del Capellán". On the right side of what the main building must have been, the remains of an enclosure that once was a hermitage of which we do not know its advocation remain. Given the situation of the environment, we deduce that it would be of private use. The attached building, as we said above, on the right side of the main building, is built with masonry walls, gabled roof in curved tile. Plant of unique ship with a small enclosure to its left that, presumably would be used as sacristy. On the south facing façade, access in ogival arch and on this, a large round oculus.
The Santa Catalina parish church was built to serve not only as a church but also as a fortress where the local people could take refuge from attacks by Berber pirates. Nowadays you will notice that there are two separate parts: an older part dating back to the 16th century and a number of extensions, some of which date back to the 18th century, and some of which are modern. The older part of the church has a single nave that faces east. There are four sections with chapels between the buttresses. Architectural features of this construction feature a barrel vault with tierceron vaulting and a five-sided polygonal apse with a star-shaped vault bearing the parish coat of arms. Recent research has uncovered that Joan Cambra, an important architect who worked on significant buildings such as the churches in Pego and San Miguel de los Reyes in Valencia was almost certainly involved in the design of this church. The first extension, in the 18th century, attempted to create a Latin cross by prolonging the Gothic layout. The main altar was also moved to face west rather than east, and a neoclassical door called the 'Porta Nova' was added. All the fortress-like characteristics of the building were removed. All that is left these days is a small stretch of wall at the back of the church. This first modification was followed by the construction of the capilla de la Comunión (Communion Chapel), which has been devoted to St Vicente Ferrer. It contains a relic of this saint and a dressed statue from the 18th century. New sacristy rooms were built between the 19th and 20th centuries. A new bell tower was built in around 1895. This bell tower is a good example of the traditional hexagonal towers built in medieval times. The perimeter of the base measures 24 metres and it is 31 metres high. The church contains a valuable Romantic-style organ created by a Valencia company called Successors de Randeynes a caballo between the 19th and 20th centuries. The church was restored in 1979.
Set in the heart of Moraira town centre, this rectangular building consists of three naves separated by pillars and is in four sections. This first of these, next to a portico with four arches (reminiscent of the typical riu-rau buildings) is an extension which was added in 1981. Three of the arches have now been glazed in.The square belltower is to the left. The main altar in this church has a mosaic showing religious scenes with a fishing theme.
This chapel has a simple, elegant, Renaissance style entrance (17th century). The remainder of the building is in the Baroque style and is divided into two bays. The interior decoration with geometric and plant motifs is dated 1861. There is a belfry over the door and the first tranche of the roof consists of a dome with green tiles. In times gone by, a guild carried the statue through the streets in procession and, every year they held a festival with the donations received. These days, the Colla el Falçó – Asociación de “dolçainers i tabaleters” in Teulada organises a festival every September in honour of the Divina Pastora.
Lovely neoclassical-style building. This rectangular building has three naves and four bays. There are some excellent paintings on the ceiling and on the main altar pictures St Vicente (16th century) painted on wood. This is thought to be the work of Gaspar de Requena, a Renaissance painter who was a fellow student of Juan de Juanes. There is also an image of the Nazarene (18th century). It has a typical dome covered with blue, green and white tiles. Built in honour of St Vicente Ferrer.
The works of the Parish Church of San Pedro Apóstol began on March 9, 1780 and its construction culminated in 1788. However, the temple was destroyed, along with other buildings in the town, because of the earthquake that struck Rojales in 1829. In this way, its façade manifests today an eclectic style as a result of the passage of time and the change of ecclesiastical architectural styles. It should be noted in its interior the great dome, the work of Fray Antón VIllanueva, and its careful religious imagery.
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