Church of Saint John in Aranda de Duero: Gothic Church and Sacred-Art Museum
Site at a Glance
- Popularity
- Medium
- Country
- Spain
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern
- Civilizations
- Crown of Castile, Spanish
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Church
On this page9 sections
History
Medieval church and the Council of Aranda
The Church of Saint John in Aranda de Duero, Spain, is a Gothic Catholic church built during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. In 1473, during the reign of Henry IV of Castile, Archbishop of Toledo Alonso Carrillo de Acuña convened the Council of Aranda there. The assembly of clergy addressed ignorance and misconduct among some members of the church.
Later use and museum
The neoclassical altarpiece at the high altar received partial funding from Antonio Gutiérrez de Otero, a military officer born in Aranda de Duero who held the rank of field marshal. The church is no longer used for worship. It now serves as a sacred-art museum for Aranda de Duero and the Ribera del Duero, under the ownership of the Archdiocese of Burgos, a regional Catholic jurisdiction led by an archbishop.
In 1982, the church was declared a historic-artistic monument. It is now designated a Spanish Asset of Cultural Interest in the monument category. In 2014, it hosted the nineteenth edition of Las Edades del Hombre (“The Ages of Man”), a series of exhibitions about religious art and heritage, jointly with the Church of Santa María la Real. The exhibitions coincided with the 500th anniversary of the completion of Santa María la Real’s façade, which is dated to between 1514 and 1516.
Remains
Setting and entrance
The Gothic church stands on a small promontory facing a Romanesque bridge over the Bañuelos River. Its portal has nine bands of moulding following the curve of the arch, with an image of Saint John in the space above the doorway.
Altarpieces and museum spaces
Chapel of the Calderonas
The Chapel of the Calderonas contains a Renaissance altarpiece.
High altar and bronze bust
A neoclassical altarpiece stands at the high altar. A bronze bust of Antonio Gutiérrez de Otero is positioned opposite the church tower.
Museum galleries
The museum’s themed spaces address history, tradition, and heritage, and include “Light of the Peoples: The Church,” “Protagonists and Witnesses of the Light,” “A Foretaste of Darkness and Glory,” “I Am the Light of the World,” “You Are My Friends,” and “At the Gates of the Kingdom.”
