Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Loreto

The Church of Our Lady of Loreto, known locally as the Parroquia del Mar, stands in Duanes de la Mar, the fishing quarter beside the harbour in Jávea. It replaces an 18th-century hermitage tied to local fishermen; devotion to the Virgin of Loreto continued in a smaller chapel until the present church was consecrated in 1967.

A concrete hull

The building is the work of architect Fernando García-Ordóñez, and it deliberately breaks with the traditional image of a parish church. Built in reinforced concrete poured against timber formwork, it has a single, corner-free nave under a curved roof shaped like the inverted hull of a fishing boat. Twelve concrete forms, one for each apostle, run along the interior supporting the wooden nave structure, while light slides down the walls from openings overhead to create an almost underwater atmosphere, as if walking along the sea floor. The design earned the church a reputation as one of the more unusual pieces of religious architecture built in Spain in the 20th century, discussed at the time alongside cathedrals as different as the one in Brasília.

Visiting

The austere, light-filled interior takes only a few minutes to see, though it rewards a closer look at the timber formwork left exposed on the ceiling, its grain rippling upward toward the altar like waves. Outside, Duanes de la Mar still has the feel of the fishing village that surrounded the original hermitage, with the harbour a short walk away. Visiting outside Mass times makes it easier to take in the space, and it pairs well with a walk through the Casco Antiguo of Jávea or the climb to the Ermita de Santa Llúcia i Santa Bàrbara above town. Anyone ending the day at the beach can reach Arenal de Jávea in a few minutes. The church remains an active parish, so Sunday Mass still draws a steady local congregation rather than only visitors passing through.