The church of Santa María la Real in Aranda de Duero was born out of the need to build a larger church than the neighbouring church of San Juan, in order to meet the religious needs of the growing population of Aranda. As in the case of San Juan, and in the same historical context, a primitive Romanesque church must have preceded the current Gothic temple, as is attested by the existence of the tower with Romanesque traces, with evident signs of having been conceived with religious-defensive functions. After the various revolts and noble struggles of the late 13th century and much of the 14th century, the town renewed its dynamism and splendour with new vigour, which made it necessary to plan the construction of a new church with greater capacity and more prestige than the preceding Romanesque church had undoubtedly had. Nor should we rule out, as an explanatory factor for this project, the existence of a certain sense of emulation or competition between the parishioners of one neighbourhood and the other, stimuli that would lead to the design and execution of a building of greater dimensions and higher aesthetic pretensions in the parish church of Santa María. In turn, the superior material and artistic category of this church would express the triumph of its homonymous neighbourhood and square over the urban ensemble: from this moment on, the square of Santa María would become the nerve centre of all the typically urban activities of the town, displacing the neighbouring square of San Juan in this sense.

It seems that work had already begun in 1439. We do not know the name of the designer. The church is in the Flamboyant Gothic style, with a Latin cross plan with three naves, plus a fourth nave that was added as quarters for the brotherhoods. The exterior gives the impression of grandeur, elegance and robustness.

The façade, a monumental altarpiece sculpted in stone, which has been considered one of the greatest examples of flamboyant Gothic in Spain, is particularly noteworthy. It was built by Simón and Francisco Colonia during the first third of the 16th century and was a gift from Queen Isabella to the town of Aranda. It was completed in 1514 and inaugurated in 1515 by King Ferdinand “The Catholic”, already a widower of Isabella, who some time before (while still a princess) had attended the Council of Aranda (1473) in the neighbouring church of San Juan.

From the compositional point of view, it is organised as a broad curtain containing, in its lower part, the doorway itself, which advances in relation to the plane of the door. The figures on the lower part of the façade are the four Western Fathers of the Church: Saint Ambrose, Saint Jerome, Saint Augustine and Saint Gregory the Great.

The church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, so the tympanum contains some of the most characteristic scenes from her life. Thus, we find the Birth of Jesus and the Epiphany, and in the upper part there are small scenes of the Annunciation and the Three Wise Men. The door is double and is separated by a mullioned window showing the Virgin suckling the Child, and is completed with a series of figures of saints, the evangelists, the apostles and some saints of great relevance and devotion in the town, such as San Roque, San Lorenzo and San Antón. On the upper part of the façade there are three large reliefs representing the Passion of Christ. The central figure shows the scene of the Crucifixion, and on both sides, inside two medallions, we see the scenes of Christ on the way to Calvary and the Resurrection. The patrons of the work can be recognised by the heraldic motifs. In the upper part, there are two large coats of arms, one belonging to the Catholic Monarchs and the other to Joanna I of Castile and her husband Philip the Handsome. Just below, and slightly offset to the sides, are two identical coats of arms representing the town of Aranda, with two rampant lions defending a tower on a three-eyed bridge. Below the medallions in high relief, there are two other smaller coats of arms showing the arms of Bishop Alonso Enríquez, during whose episcopate this façade was erected. It is important to highlight the restoration carried out in 2001. The cleaning, consolidation and chromatic reintegration of the ensemble has allowed it to recover its lost splendour. The wooden reliefs on the door were replaced by copies for their protection, and the original panels can be seen in the Museo Sacro de la iglesia San Juan.

Inside, the magnificent choir staircase stands out, built in 1523, attributed to Juan and Sebastián de la Torre, in which the transition from Gothic to Renaissance can be seen, maintaining clear Mudejar reminiscences. Of all the movable property housed in this church, the beautiful Renaissance pulpit, hexagonal in shape, entirely carved in walnut wood, whose construction is attributed to Miguel de Espinosa and Juan de Cambray, is particularly noteworthy. Another noteworthy element inside the church is the presence of important religious sculptures such as the Santo Cristo de la Salud, from the mid-16th century, and several other images.

Shall we play? You can recreate yourself in the impressive facade trying to discover:

▶︎ The figure of a man wearing a pair of glasses.

▶︎ Several animals (rat, wild boar).

▶︎ A figure that is not made of stone.

…We leave you a few moments to contemplate and locate…

Solution nº 3: This is the decapitated one and represents Santiago with his pilgrim’s sack. The figure is slightly darker than the rest and was broken into pieces when someone (anecdotes aside) tried to climb up the façade of the church a few years ago.