page_title: Church of Our Lady of the Assumption, Villamelendro de Valdavia
section_title: Interior
hierarchical_section_title: Church of Our Lady of the Assumption, Villamelendro de Valdavia / Description / Interior
caption_attribution_description: English: Baptismal font in church of La Asunción in Villamelendro de Valdavia (Palencia, Castile and León). Segmented baptismal font with a beautiful relief of a cross pattée in one of its sides. Dating from the 17TH-18TH century. Español: Pila bautismal de la iglesia de La Asunción en Villamelendro de Valdavia (Palencia, Castilla y León). Gallonada, presenta un bello relieve con una cruz patada en uno de sus laterales. Datada en el siglo XVII-XVIII.
context_page_description: The Church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción is a temple of worship under the Catholic Church and predominantly designed with a baroque style located in Villamelendro de Valdavia, belonging to the municipality of Villasila de Valdavia, in the province of Palencia, under the autonomous community of Castilla y León, Spain.
context_section_description: The interior consists of a single nave, separated by arches of ashlars in three bodies covered with bóveda en arista and a high wooden choir at the feet. On the side of the presbytery is the main altarpiece from the first half of the 17th century with paintings on the bench of the Annunciation and Adoration of the Shepherds, flanked by four small panels representing the Fathers of the Church, from left to right: St Augustine of Hippo, St Gregory the Great, St Ambrose of Milan and St Jerome of Stridon on which four columns Corinthian Order are supported as an allegory for the pillars of the Church. The altarpiece is articulated around a central niche with the image of Asunción presiding and in the side streets four panels with paintings of the life and martyrdom of Julita y Quirico and in the attic Crucifix. Tabernacle with relief of the Resurrection on the door.
  On the epistle side, rococo altarpiece (not gilded) with relief of the Souls and the Holy Trinity. On the Gospel side, there is a crucifix and altarpiece rococo identical to the one on the Epistle side but with gilded reliefs.
  In the Baptistery, under the choir, there is a baptismal font with a large ribbon and with a relief of a cross kicked on one of its sides. By analogy with the font of the nearby Church of San Pelayo in Villasila de Valdavia, we could date it to the end of the 18th century.
  At the same time, other more modern works of lesser artistic interest are kept, most notably a Sacred Heart of Jesus that was offered by the family of Martín Cabezón at the beginning of the 20th century for the safe return of their son Marcos Cabezón from the Third Carlist War. 
  In 1987 frescoes dating from the 18th century were discovered, on the gospel side a star motif is repeated on the floor of the church entrance. While on the epistle side the figure of an allegorical vase representing the Virgin Mary.
  The floor of the church, except for the part of the presbytery which is from the 20th century, is the original one made of terracotta tiles. Already from the end of the 18th century the need for burials to take place outside the church was promulgated, but it was not until later in the 19th century that the order was carried out. This is why many of the tiles are dented and have marks on the ends from being lifted and re-laid. The burials inside the Church were done by zones and could be paid for. That is why the wealthy chose areas as close as possible to the main altar and the poorer ones far from it. 
  Until the end of the 1980s, men sat in the choir, in the pews below the choir (where a still existing indigo blue and black bench, known as the pew of darkness, stood out) and the area closest to the entrance, while women sat in kneeling pews closest to the presbytery. These kneeling places were usually above the areas where their relatives were buried, and the place where the women of the same family sat from generation to generation remained.
  There are two large banners. One of them is typical of holidays, with three bands of the same size, where the first and third are crimson and the middle one is white with the cross of Santiago in the middle, also crimson. The other is purple, with gold trimmings, to preside over the burials and moments of the Passion. Both banners are accompanied by a bronze processional cross and two deciochesque lanterns.
caption: Baptismal font with cross kicked. 18th century approx.
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