Navas de San Juan
by Saskia Mier
Visitors to Navas de San Juan can enjoy walks through its enchanting streets, admiring the remarkable buildings that make up its historical and artistic heritage. It has about 4,500 inhabitants.
HISTORY
The area of Navas de San Juan was occupied as early as the middle of the 2nd millennium BC, as evidenced by the settlements of Castellón and La Atalaya.
It was not until the Iberian age (probably due to colonisation promoted by the Iberian centre of Cástulo around the fourth century BC) that the town was founded. At this time, it belonged to the Iberian province of Oretania, with its capital in nearby Orissia (today’s Vilches). It later came under Carthaginian rule, along with the rest of this province, until it finally passed into Roman hands, with its capital in Cartago Nova (Cartagena). More>
THINGS TO SEE
Ayuntamiento
The Town Hall was built in 1927 on the site of the Casa del Concejo and the Pósito Municipal. Its construction was overseen by architect Joaquín Juncosa, following the typical models of regionalist architecture and the designs of Emilio Moreno Callejón. It was inaugurated on August 4, 1928 by Mayor Don José Garrido Paredes. It is one of the most emblematic buildings of the town; on the ground floor, the entrance stands out, with a portico forming a semicircular arch on pilasters and a beautiful one-piece white marble postbox. The first floor has a continuous balcony, the second a flat gallery with footings on pillars and, on the sides, double windows with semicircular arches. The design culminates in the brick façade, with a clock and belfry. The clock was added in 1980, a copy with a daily winding of hours and half hours and a transparent dial; it was not built for this building, but for the Iglesia de San Juan Bautista. Located in Plaza de la Constitución.
Iglesia de San Juan Bautista
The construction of this church dates back to the middle of the sixteenth century, although several construction phases are evident, up to the eighteenth century; these reforms were due to the adaptation of the building for worship, since in 1552 the Castillejo de los Benavides was ceded to the Priest, Don Luis de Alba. The project was carried out by the architect Don Nicolás de Torres with the permission of Bishop Don Alonso Pecci, and was not completed until thirty years later. The works were initiated by Master Juan de Ostiaga and Alonso Barba, architect of the Jaén Cathedral, was appointed. His hallmark is Andalusian mannerism, which mixes the sobriety of classic decorative elements. Inside is the figure of San Juan as a child in stone. The bell tower was built in the seventeenth century by José María Orozco, and remodeled in the eighteenth century. Located in Plaza de la Iglesia.
Edificio Los Torreones
This grandiose building was constructed over the dilapidated Civil Guard Barracks House. The land was purchased by Don Fructuoso in order to build his residence, completed and inhabited in 1931. Its architect was from Madrid and the master builder of the entire project was Don Antonio Zamora López. The carpentry was carried out by ship owner Antonio García Prieto (Tirso). The palace of Fructuoso Rodríguez Carrasco and Sara Palazón Yebra was inaugurated in 1932. Don Fructuoso had been Mayor of this town on several occasions in the early years of the twentieth century and became a Deputy and even Governor of Cuenca. Upon the death of Doña Sara on December 24, 1956, twenty years after her husband, the couple bequeathed all their properties to the poorest people in the town. In order to facilitate this charitable mission, the building became the home of the Santa Sara and San Fructuoso Asylum Institution, where nuns from the Comunidad de Religiosas Formacionistas Esclavas de María took care of girls and elderly women. The nuns lived in the building until they ceased their activity at the end of the 1960s, and in the mid-1990s, a nursery was built on the grounds, a modern building designed by the architect Juan Carlos Ramiro Rivas. Currently owned by the Town Hall, the building houses the municipal library, the nursery, and the Guadalinfo centre. Located on Calle del Santo.
Las Pilas
The communal washing area was destroyed during the French invasion in 1808. At that time, it was made up of two naves with a double row of roofed batteries with a wooden structure; the wooden form was destroyed, although the rows were preserved. It has since been restored. Las Pilas is a rare example of public civil architecture, and forms a rest area on the Vergao pathway, towards Olvera and Llano de la Estrella. The water flows from what is commonly known as the Fuente de las Pilas, a fountain made up of four pipes that flow into the sinks. Located a few metres out of the town on Calle Lorite.
Capilla de San Isidro
This small chapel, commonly known as Capilla de Arriba, is a single-storey structure composed of a semicircular portico, which previously sat in the old cemetery and was relocated to this construction in 1988. However, it is believed that it once belonged to the now disappeared Ermita de San Sebastián. Located on Calle del Sol.
THINGS TO SEE OUTSIDE THE TOWN
Ermita Virgen de la Estrella
This chapel has undergone several reconstructions over the years; it was originally built in the fourteenth century on the remains of the collapsed Castillo de la Estrella. Some parts of the original fortification have been preserved, such as the two blinded Muslim arches that formed the frontispiece, and the homage tower (now repurposed as a bell tower). The new chapel was built in 1892, and its construction was commemorated by placing some coins and an inscribed lead plate in a cavity in the façade. Located 5km from the town off the JA-7103.
Castillo de Torre Alver
This castle was built as a surveillance point over the secondary pass between Andalusia and La Mancha, commonly known as the Camino de Castellar de la Mata (today Castellar de Santiago). Its construction is attributed to the Almohads, although other evidence highlights that it was used to reinforce the borders after the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (1212). It was in operation until the fall of Santisteban in 1235, most likely abandoned due to the sale of Santisteban to Fernando III. Today, it sits in a ruinous state, with one of its most visible walls pierced with an enormous hole. Declared an Asset of Cultural Interest.
NATURAL AREAS
Canteras de Yeso
Ancient plaster caves located about 2km from the town centre that can be accessed and explored.