The Church of Santos Juanes or Sant Joan del Mercat is a Catholic church located in the Mercat neighborhood of the city of Valencia, Spain. By the mid-13th century, a church was built atop the site of a former mosque, initially in a Gothic style; however, fires in the 14th century necessitated reconstruction. A major fire in 1592 led to another reconstruction, commissioned by the Archbishop and Viceroy Juan de Ribera in an exuberant Baroque style completed in 1700. This was located in the Boatella neighborhood, then working class quarters, outside the town walls, that housed some of the Morisco population.
The main facade of the church retains a walled-up oculus of a rose window from the older church. The square exterior of the apse, facing the piazza, houses a central niche decorated with a stucco statuary group of the Virgen del Rosario (Virgin of the Rosary) attributed to Jacopo Bertesi. The group display the Virgin and Child (his hand on the globe) ensconced in a burst of rays, angels, and cherubs. Other portals contain the symbols of John the Baptist (lamb) and John the Evangelist (eagle). The center is surmounted by a clock tower, and a roofline dominated by statues of the Juanes: including the Baptist, the Evangelist, and Saints Francesco Borgia and Luis Bertrán. This facade includes profuse complex iconography including a lamb atop a book with five seals.
The interior has statues depicting the 12 tribes of Israel, also by Bertesi, and large ceiling frescoes depicting numerous themes of the Church Triumphant by Antonio Palomino. The church interiors, including the frescoes, suffered arson damage during the Spanish Civil War.
References:The Clementinum is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries, the City Library also being located nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. The Technical library and the Municipal library have moved to the Prague National Technical Library at Technická 6 since 2009. It is currently in use as the National Library of the Czech Republic.
Its history dates from the existence of a chapel dedicated to Saint Clement in the 11th century. A Dominican monastery was founded in the medieval period, which was transformed in 1556 to a Jesuit college. In 1622 the Jesuits transferred the library of Charles University to the Klementinum, and the college was merged with the University in 1654. The Jesuits remained until 1773, when the Klementinum was established as an observatory, library, and university by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.