Logbook · 5 places

Church of San Juan de Montealegre

Villagatón, Astorga, León

1 Villages · 2 Monuments · 1 Nature · 1 Historical milestones

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Church of San Juan de Montealegre

Monument · Villagatón, Astorga, León

The church of San Juan de Montealegre, also called San Juan de La Silva, was a monastery situated on the Roman road Vía Nova, deep in the heart of the Montes de León, within the municipal boundary of Villagatón. Probably founded in the 10th century under the patronage of San Martín de Montes, it is already documented at the Council of Irago in the year 946; in 1203 it took the patronage of San Juan, adding the name Montealegre, its parish. Its bell-gable was raised in the 16th century. After the Mendizábal Desamortización it fell into decline, and today only its Romanesque ruins remain, with three semicircular apses and remains of geometric mural paintings. Declared Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection) on 28 October 1993, it is the only protection of that rank in a municipality of very scattered hamlets.

Photo: FCPB (CC BY-SA 3.0)

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