The Mudéjar-adorned building in Ciudad Real

The Iglesia de Santiago, located in Ciudad Real, showcases a mix of late Romanesque and early Gothic architecture, constructed at the end of the 13th century and the beginning of the 14th century. Its exterior is hermetic, but its interior and tower, possibly built in the early 13th century on a defensive tower, exhibit evidence of Islamic influences. This building was one of the three parishes that formed the city, situated northeast of the city between the streets Toledo and Calatrava.

The central Gothic vault of the building houses a fresco with eight dragons, while a shield of the Order of Santiago from the 16th century is found in a lateral chapel. The interior nave showcases a Mudéjar artesonado decorated with intricate lacework, octagonal stars with lobed flowers made with silver foil, and thirty-two colored wooden canes adorned with heraldic shields and conchas de Santiago con forma humana.

The cruz de Calatrava was represented in black until the 15th century and in red thereafter, and the one found on this artesonado is red. This evidence suggests that the construction of the artesonado very possibly began in the 14th century but was finished in the 15th century.

The Iglesia de Santiago underwent restoration from 1985-1989 by the Consejería de Educación y Cultura de la JCCM. During the restoration, the Mudéjar artesonado was discovered hidden under a barrel-vaulted ceiling from the 18th century, and the structure of the tower was consolidated. A contemporary brick covertize was demolished from the portada, and painted murals were found when the walls were cleaned and a layer of yeso was removed.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons