Museo Parroquial Iglesia de la Asunción (Bocairent)
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C./ Abadía, 8 Tel: 96 290 50 62 Timetable: Sunday 12.30pm. Groups arrange visit in advance. |
The Parish Museum of Virgen de la Asunción’s Church raises majestically in the highest part of the urban center, over the old Arab castle of Bekiren. These historical monuments are witness to the passage of history. For example, if we take a good look at the main façade, we can notice that the foundations have directly been built right on the rock.
The church, which has recently been restored, shows some beautiful pastel colours that moderate the Baroque style and the Neoclassic strictness of both styles found in the inside. This part of the church stands out for the fresco paintings of the vault, the altarpieces and the baptismal font of the 15th century. A side chapel is the only element that has survived after the earthquake suffered in 1748. There still survives one of the most interesting murals. We can find, in the adjacent rooms to the church, a heritage collection which shows the influence of the parish church in the past: a collection of paintings, some of them by the well-known Sorolla or the school of Joan de Joanes; a liturgical costume with splendid embroidery from the 15th century; and jewelry and magnificent chalices.
The whole religious collection, both artistic and architectural, offers different ways of interpreting it. An artistic one, through the construction itself and the different visible proofs made by restorers when they tried to clean the paintings in the restoration process. And an ecclesiastical one, which let us go into the symbolic and evangelizing language of Christian culture.
