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Church of Santa María de Illescas

Illescas, La Sagra, Toledo

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Church of Santa María de Illescas

Monument · Illescas, La Sagra, Toledo

A parish church whose Mudéjar tower was declared Monumento Nacional (a former Spanish heritage-protection designation) in 1920. It is the architectural emblem of Illescas's old town. Dedicated to Santa María de la Asunción, it is one of the few churches, along with that of Santiago del Arrabal in Toledo, that preserve the Muslim-Christian transition, with a basilical plan of three naves and three semicircular apses built between the 13th and 16th centuries. Its five-tiered Mudéjar tower stands out for the variety of its ornamentation, the lobed arches of its windows and the upper arcade on small columns of glazed ceramic, among the finest of the Toledan Mudéjar towers. In the 16th century the main body was transformed into a Gothic nave with star vaults. Today it is a Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection).

Photo: Zarateman (CC0)

What to see and do in Illescas