Church of Saint Mary the Ancient

The Church of Saint Mary the Ancient rises from the twelfth century in the city of Valladolid. Preserves since then a slender tower topped with a Romanesque chapitel tile and a portico on the north side also Romanesque. The rest of the building is Gothic.

Possibly one of the parishes with more history of Valladolid. Under the current building remains have been found of some Roman baths. It seems it was founded, or at least having, in the eleventh century (1095) by the Count Ansúrez, founder of the city. This construction of the eleventh century is not conserved anything. The oldest parts of the current temple dating from the late twelfth century: the gallery on the north portico of the building and the tower at the foot, both Roman style. The tower, one of the symbols of Valladolid, is well known for the slenderness and the nobility of their shares, in addition to its attractive organization windows, which are creating a tension that emphasizes climb further its slenderness, which also contribute imposed by the "ajedrezados" arranged rhythmically over the rebels. It is also to warn the valuation plastic and the emphasis given to the corners through columns have in them.

The remainder of the temple was rebuilt in the fourteenth century, following the Gothic style. The church was organized in three ships, topped by three polygonal apses, ambulatory, and cruise expressed only in the rebels and not on the ground. The vaults were simple cross.

The building suffered multiple reforms, due to its nature of parish populous and poor foundation of the building, built next to one of the branches of the Esgueva River. Towards 1500, its southern flank a house presbytery and the apse side of the Gospel was transformed. It housed the image of Nuestra Señora de la Zarza that, according to legend, had been found during the construction of the primitive church in 1096, hidden in a bush. Terraced this chapel is available to house women. In the mid-sixteenth century, the famous architect Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón due to the collapse of the building, restated contrarrestos system of the building, building new buttress and counters.

It was reconstructed several windows. At the same time, voids the last body of the Romanesque tower were reformed in order to put bells on them. Also in the sixteenth century was an estimable main altarpiece, carved by John's between 1550 and June 1562, which masked inside the apse of the nave. Towards 1706 was added the chapel of Our Lady of Solitude and Ánimas next to the sacristy of the Church, both pieces attached to the apses. Several of baroque altarpieces were located in the interior during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, helping to mask more space Gothic, rated poorly during the Baroque.We know the building before restoration of the twentieth century thanks to a series of photographs published by Martí and Monsó in his art studies relating principally to Valladolid, 1898. The interior was totally whitewashed. In the apse was the largest altarpiece by Juan de Juni and the socket was decorated with tiles interesting. The apse on the side of the Epistle of the chapel was dedicated to Dr. Tovar. It contained an altarpiece with good tardogóticas paintings of the fifteenth century (now preserved in the Diocesan Museum and Cathedral of Valladolid), and closed with a substantial gate of the sixteenth century. In the south wall of the cruise prescribed a baroque altarpiece and opened an arc angrelado giving way to the small chapel of San Sebastian. In the two pillars torales closest to the head, were attached to each of baroque altarpieces 1700, making the job of collateral. The high choir, work towards 1500, was a body of Baroque facade. We have news organ in this church since 1512, but not today retains none.

In the early twentieth century, the building accusing imminent ruin, which was subjected to an extensive restoration, carried out with strict guidelines violletianas constructive. It demolished almost the entire group formed by the church and its buildings townhouses, except the tower, the three apses and Roman portico, which were also restored. The altarpiece by Juan de Juni moved to the Cathedral of Valladolid, where he is now. The new temple was built in the first half of the twentieth century neo-Gothic style and is in perfect harmony with the apses of the fourteenth century preserved. It is organized in the same way that the church coetánea to apses: three ships of two cruise with unmarked on the ground and covered with ribbed vaults simple. The work of restoration and reconstruction were very long, from 1900 until 1952, when the church was reopened for worship.

Today the temple is stripped of many of the works of art that contained Renaissance furniture, due to the strict criteria of unity of style of conservators, and displayed inside and outside their naked Romanesque architecture and fundamentally Gothic and neo-gothic.