The beautiful Church of Santa María del Azogue in Benavente is close to the Parador of Benavente and we visited several times. It is in the centre of the shopping streets, close to the Plaza Mayor and feels very ‘friendly’.
A brief history
The church dates from c.1180, the time when Ferdinand II was pushing the repopulation of Benavente. The Church of San Juan del Mercado (post coming) dates from the same time. The original building was Romanesque and this is very clear when you see the apses from behind the building, and the details on the north and south doors.
‘Azogue’ is an Arabic word for market – clearly the centre of the town was a very busy market place at some point!
And the south and north doors have the usual Romanesque decorations.
Further additions were made to the church in the 13th, 15th, and 17th centuries.[efn_note}https://www.descubrebenavente.com/iglesia-de-santa-maria-del-azogue[/efn_note]
The interior
Perhaps the pictures say enough?
Little details
The Church of Santa María del Azogue is very beautiful indeed and there are so many more details and pictures… I just wish I knew more about the history and the architecture, but it looks like a lifetime’s study.
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