Església Vella de Sant Miquel de l'Espluga de Francolí

Sant Miquel de l'Espluga, in the Conca de Barberà region, was declared a cultural asset of national interest. This beautiful church, built in the 13th-14th centuries at the site of an earlier, romanesque church mentioned in 1182, boasts an intricate structure and stunning decorative work. Sant Miquel de l'Espluga has a three-aisled nave and a polygonal apse with radial chapels and a side chapel. The massive west facade, with a single entrance featuring complex feixes of moldures forming the arches and archivoltes, is a notable feature.

The belltower is a later addition. There is another entrance on the south facade, surrounded by contraforts. The presbytery, with rich decorative work that remarkably resembles that of Sant Miquel de Montblanc, is the only interior space that houses such decoration. The main altar has an image of Sant Miquel from the 18th - 19th century. The pulpit, made of stone, has a floral design and is supported by a structure. In the 14th century, the Espluga was divided into two domains: Espluga Jussana and Espluga Sobirana.

There were two separate cemeteries for the two Esplugues, despite the church being the only parish. A larger church was constructed in the 19th century in front of the gothic church. The interior of the temple was heavily damaged in the third carlist war. Two restoration campaigns were carried out in the 1920s and 1950s. Sant Miquel de l'Espluga no longer has the character of parish, but remains open for worship. During urban sewer installation in the Plaça de l'Església, various graves from the medieval period were located.

The discoveries correspond to one of two cemeteries. 17 burials cut longitudinally by the aforementioned trench were identified during the intervention. The typology of the burials in typical trenches of the late middle ages and modern period, the location of a copper chalice in one of the graves and the distance from the walls of the church, made the officials think it was burials possibly from the 17th or 18th centuries, but without being able to specify if older burials could be documented in a lower level where they were working.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons