A 1552 bas-relief salvaged from the original San Juan Bautista church

The Iglesia de San Juan Bautista in Chiclana de la Frontera is a Neoclassical church that preserves a fragment of its predecessor. Construction on an earlier building began around 1510, following a slow building process that remained incomplete by 1576. Because the original church had fallen into a state of ruin, it was impossible to undertake its expansion, leading to its demolition in the eighteenth century.

Despite the demolition of the original structure, a bas-relief from the altarpiece was salvaged. This piece dates to 1552 and is the work of the sculptor Roque Balduque and the painter Andrés Ramírez. It remains a physical link to the 16th-century building that preceded the current site.

The current Neoclassical church was designed by Torcuato Cayón, who was also in charge of the works for the Cádiz Cathedral and was a key figure in the transition from Baroque to Neoclassical architecture. Cayón began the new church in 1776, but following his death in 1783, the building was eventually fully completed in 1814.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons