The Parish Church of St. James the Apostle in Casarabonela was built on the site of what had been the main mosque of Qasr Bunayra, following its transfer by the Mudejar residents in early December 1496. The parish church, dedicated to St. James, was established in 1505, with the benefice of Alozaina assigned to it as an annex.
The church was built in the style of the late Gothic period, transitioning to the Renaissance, with a distinct Mudejar character.
It has three naves separated by semicircular arches resting on ten square pillars. The central nave, which has lost its roof truss, rises higher than it originally did, as can be clearly seen on the façade, and is covered by a barrel vault with lunettes and transverse ribs above the impost line; the side naves, with their deeply recessed vaults—also reinforced with transverse ribs—conceal their overhanging roofs, and in the foreground is the barrel vault of the baptismal chapel (built in 1928), which closes off the Epistle nave at its foot.
The main chapel is rectangular, with an elliptical vault supported by pendentives; on the straight wall at the apse there is a niche covered by a new, repainted ribbed vault, which houses the image of the Virgin of the Rosary, patron saint of the town.
In the Epistle aisle, the Chapel of the Tabernacle, due to its complexity, constitutes a small, independent sanctuary within the church, arranged perpendicular to the church’s central axis. On the exterior, we can see that it was originally decorated with red sgraffito.
The main façade combines pink and black marble in some decorative details. It features a semicircular arch that is completely enclosed within the interlocking pilasters as they open outward, also wrapping around the arch’s curve—a highly original design element; the entablature features alternating diamond-shaped points and oval medallions in black marble alongside a coat of arms bearing the Cross of St. James, and it supports the vertices of a pediment formed by thick volutes flanking an oval containing a cross topped by a coat of arms of the Order of St. Francis of Paola (CHARITAS)
The bell tower rises above the last section of the Gospel nave and is characterized by a simplicity that blends well with the original structure; it has four sections separated by imposts, the topmost of which is openwork with a semicircular arch and crowned by a spire of glazed ceramic tiles.
The parish preserves an important collection of religious silverwork dating from the 17th century to the present day.
In the 19th century, the church was considered the finest of its kind (a collegiate church) among the towns in the province, and it has undergone numerous restorations and expansions that have given it a different character from its original form.
Calle Baluarte s/n, Casarabonela
High
Registration / Yes (schedule)
Mancomunidad 
