🎵 Audio guide
The Church of Our Lady of Consolation (Nuestra Señora de la Consolación), dating from the 15th and 16th centuries, is an outstanding example of the architecture of that period. It comprises three sections: the nave, the chancel (which is lower and narrower), and the bell tower. These are all constructed of rubble stone masonry reinforced with dressed stone blocks at the corners, buttresses and openings.
The 15th-century nave is rectangular, with a gable roof and four sections separated by buttresses. On the Epistle side, there is an unsightly modern extension used as a storeroom. A small bell gable rises from the façade, beneath which an architraved opening lets light into the interior; there are two further such openings on the same/Epistle side.
There are several entrances constructed with ashlar or dressed stone. The main entrance is formed by a pointed arch and some rough decorative moulding. The door on the Epistle side, framed between the first two buttresses and protected by a wooden-framed portico, is a decorated semicircular arch with prominent imposts and decorative moulding. The entrance on the Gospel side has been closed up.
The bell tower stands at the front of the church on the Gospel side. It was built in the 16th and 17th centuries. The main body of the tower, constructed of rubble stone masonry with ashlar blocks at the corners, rests on a base of ashlar. It is divided into two sections by a small granite string course and crowned by a classical entablature of dressed stone.
The belfry, which is built entirely of ashlar masonry and dressed stone, features four semicircular-arched openings and is topped by another classical entablature which incorporates the gutters. The structure is crowned by a granite balustrade and a hemispherical dome, on top of which stands a small tower with four openings.
The chancel, dating from the same period as the nave, has a square floor plan with no buttresses. It is lower and narrower than the nave, with a flat front and a hipped roof. The sacristy, which is of considerable size, is attached to it on the Epistle side, where an architraved window provides light for the interior.
Inside, the nave is divided into four bays by pilasters supporting pointed transverse arches, which support the wooden roof structure. On the last of the nave's arches, on the Gospel side, stands a beautiful carved stone pulpit. The choir loft, which occupies part of the first bay, is supported by three semicircular arches resting on two square pillars and two projecting pilasters at the sides, and is topped by a wooden balustrade.
On the Epistle side of the narthex there are stairs leading up to the choir and, from there, to the bell tower. On the Gospel side is the baptistery, with a beautiful carved stone 15th-century baptismal font. Between these is the main entrance to the church.
The chancel is separated from the nave by a pointed triumphal arch resting on pilasters and is covered by a coffered ceiling supported by wooden corbels and cross-beams. A tall altarpiece partially occupies the flat wall behind the altar. On the Gospel side, an architraved opening provides access to the sacristy and, above it, a window lets light into the interior.
Among its most notable treasures, the church preserves a collection of magnificent 18th-century altarpieces, and sacred artwork and a beautiful carved baptismal font from the 15th century.