The Archiprestal Church of Our Lady of the Angels is Chelva’s most iconic monument and is considered one of the best works of Valencian Baroque. This cathedral-sized church was begun in 1626 and its construction lasted eighty years.
The altarpiece façade, in Mannerist style, is a monumental work of masonry that alternates between the four classical orders (Doric, Ionic, Corinthian and Composite).
Juan Bautista Pérez Castiel is credited with the exuberant interior baroque decoration, the large semi-spherical dome and the bell tower, considered the first of the Valencian Baroque. Almost 60 meters high, this tower culminates with an original clock, owned by the municipality, which indicates the hours, days of the week and the month.
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.