Iglesia Parroquial de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción

The Church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción has stood over the old town of Villajoyosa since the mid-16th century. It was built under the reign of Philip II with a double purpose: parish church and last line of defence for the town against Barbary pirate raids, common along this coast for much of the early modern period.

A church that doubled as a wall

It is built in Catalan Gothic style, with a single nave divided into six bays, a polygonal apse and heavy buttresses between which the side chapels open. The apse, facing the sea, also served as the main tower of the town wall, and the church itself was built into the fortified perimeter as a final point of resistance in case of siege. It is one of only three fortified churches that survive in Alicante province.

Along with those of Calpe and Altea, it is one of the few fortress-churches that survive on the coast of present-day Alicante province, a model that answers the same centuries of pirate threat.

Renaissance doorways were added later, and neoclassical chapels went in during the 18th century, with Baroque altarpieces that still survive inside. The contrast between the solid, defensive exterior and the 17th- and 18th-century decoration inside sums up the building’s double life.

Admission is free, subject to service hours. It is worth seeing as part of a walk through the old town, with its coloured façades, and combined with the nearby Torre de Sant Josep. For comparison, the region has another fortress-church in Jijona, Renaissance in style but built to a very different plan.