The Late Gothic Church of Sant Joan Baptista

The Església de Sant Joan Baptista is located at Plaça de l'Església 1 in Valls, occupying the site of the former parish of Sant Joan la Major. The church features a tower rising over seventy meters high. The building is a single-nave structure with eight bays and seven chapels on each side. It measures approximately 63 meters long and 16 meters wide, with a rectangular floor plan ending in a polygonal apse. The interior features a rib vault supported by pillars that are hidden by the walls of the side chapels.

Constructed between 1570 and 1583, the church was built because the old parish could no longer accommodate the faithful on feast days. The main facade is smooth and features a rosette with a polylobed oculus. The portal includes Renaissance elements around a semi-circular arch and niches containing sculptures. The building is constructed from stone, while the tower is made of large, well-dressed white stone from Roda de Berà. The tower's design allows it to be supported by only three walls thanks to its internal iron structure.

Inside, the church houses various historical works. The chapel of the Mare de Déu dels Dolors contains an image of the Mare de Déu de la Solitud by Lluís Bonifàs i Massó, dated 1755. The church also contains a group sculpted in 1776 by Lluís Bonifàs i Massó, and the chapel of the Verge de la Candela, built in neoclassical style in 1783. The church also preserves a stone and marble lower section of a 1617 altarpiece, which was reconstructed between 1947 and 1954 by Josep Busquets.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons