Iglesia Parroquial de Santa Ana

The Iglesia de Santa Ana is the oldest parish church in Elda and sits at the heart of the town's historic centre. It was founded in 1528, when the town's former main mosque was consecrated as a Christian church on the orders of Juan Francisco Pérez Calvillo Coloma, the second Lord of Elda, following the decree that forced the conversion of Mudéjar Muslims across the Crown of Aragon. It was originally dedicated to Saint Catherine the Martyr; the invocation of Saint Anne, which gives the church its current name, is not documented until 1534.

The original square-plan building, later extended with several side chapels, held a main altarpiece with sculptures by Jerónimo Esteve Bonet and 16th-century paintings by Cristóbal Llorens in the Rosary chapel. All of this was lost when the building was almost entirely destroyed in 1936, during the Spanish Civil War, in which the parish priest of the time also lost his life. Reconstruction resumed once the war ended and continued through the 1950s, with further restoration of altars and flooring; the stained-glass windows were completely renewed in 2004.

Inside today, a small parish museum holds religious pieces, paintings and liturgical ornaments gathered after the postwar rebuilding, alongside chapels dedicated to the Virgen de la Salud and the Cristo del Buen Suceso. Given its central location, the church is usually visited together with the Museo del Calzado and the El Monastil archaeological site, Elda's other two main heritage landmarks.

Visitors continuing on to neighbouring Petrer can compare this parish with the Iglesia de San Bartolomé, built in a very different period and style. Entry is free, which makes it an easy stop on any route built around free things to do in the province.