Like many churches in the Alpujarra, it was originally built on the old mosque (about 1530), as a fortified building that served as a refuge for the poorest religious and Christian populations, in anticipation of an uprising by the Moorish.
In 1763 a new and larger temple was built which, unfortunately, was totally destroyed by the strong earthquake of 1804, together with a large part of the city. Then began the construction of the current temple, with building completed in 1879 and built under the rules of the neoclassical style prevailing at the time, which incorporated symmetry and concern for proportions.
The central nave is covered with a kind of half-barrel vault and the lateral ones with vaults. During the Spanish Civil War, the artistic heritage was destroyed. The only thing that was conserved is the collection of goldsmiths and the altarpiece of Saint Joseph, paid for by the rich mining family of the Joya.
What to visit in Berja
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