Religious heritage is well represented in Casarabonela. The municipality is home to the Church of St. James the Apostle, which was once a collegiate church (it had a chapter despite not being a cathedral), several chapels, and numerous niches scattered throughout the village.
The Veracruz Chapel holds great devotional significance. It is linked to the Christian tradition of the physical cross on which Jesus of Nazareth was crucified, and is therefore considered one of the holiest relics of Christendom. This sacred structure was built over a small neighborhood mosque and has undergone numerous renovations over time.
Its brick façade is inspired by the Neo-Mudejar style and is divided into three sections. The lower section features the entrance in the center; the middle section has three poly-lobed arches surmounted by cartouches depicting the Cross of St. James, the Virgin Mary, and the motto “Charitas,” associated with the Order of the Minims of St. Francis of Paola; while the middle section features an oculus that lets light into the interior; and the upper section consists of a belfry housing a bell, flanked on either side by two ceramic pieces set atop small brick pinnacles.
The interior of its single nave contains several small chapels. At the apse, the main chapel is covered by a hemispherical vault supported by pendentives and densely decorated with plasterwork, beneath which stands the “Virgin of the Rondeles.”
The Veracruz Chapel is one of Casarabonela’s most iconic buildings. From there, the “Virgen de los Rondeles” is carried in a procession every night on December 12, accompanied by pastoral bands and illuminated by esparto grass wreaths strung on poles.
C. Veracruz n11, Casarabonela
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