Parish Church of St. John the baptist

(1770-1789)
Work of the architect Gregorio de la Rosa
Levantine Baroque style.
In the 18^th century, population growth, economic expasion, the importance given by the Church to the parishes, and all this, coupled with the unfortunate and ruinous state depicting the Temple of Archena, serve to reinforce the idea of building a new Church. So dismal state, the hospitaller of the order of Saint John of jerusalem, decided to undertake the reconstruction of the Church on the same site, even taking advantage of the already built structure. We could refer to the projected work as an expansion of the early Church. The direction of works was under the supervision of the architect master Gregorio de la Rosa who also held the works of construction in the city. The works began in the spring of 1770. The buildings of the two churches, the primitive and the new, merged before 1785. In the course of the years, 1772, which ended the larger works in the Church, until the delivery of the accounts in 1789 inside the temple occur beautification arrangerments, that abroad, would never be completed (there is an unfinished tower).
The floor of the Church is on the Latin cross. The cruise is a monumental dome, with blue tiles according to the levantine tradition. The Church is composed of three naves, the central and the sides; the first is covered by a barrel vault and is more elevated than the aisles with vaults with pointed arches. The material consists of baked brick cladding and stone.
In 1819, they return to resume the works, by means of an authorization
by Royal order of King Fernando VII, on request, to the Board economic of the order of St. John of Jerusalem. In the Tower, the largest Bell which is preserved, was acquired by 103 reals, and was palced in 1734.