The Nuestra Señora de Gracia Parish Church is located at the highest point of the town of Palomas in Badajoz. Built in the sixteenth century style, it is constructed in the Gothic-Mudéjar style and falls under the Order of Santiago.
Its large tower is the most distinct feature of the monument and one of the most beautiful examples of tower facades in Lower Extremadura. Its geometric decorations are done with moulded brick. Along with the Granja de Torrehermosa and the surrounding Hornachos, Alange and Puebla de la Reina and others, the church is the most outstanding example of the achievements of the Mudéjar style in Lower Extremadura.
The tower was built before 1550. Its body is square and takes up almost the entire nave. The tower is very high and consists of three sections. The two inferior sections are integrated into the temple, the lower section forms the narthex of the church and the other section forms the choir-gallery.
Some interesting artistic elements still survive on the inside of the building. These include the altarpiece and several side altars dedicated to the Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the Nazarene, the Immaculate Conception, Dolorosa or Our Lady of Guadalupe.
The church is located free in the center of a rectangular plaza with its shaft rotated relative to the aforementioned Plaza. A raised platform is constructed around the building along the south facade because of the slope.
References:The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.