Church of the Asunción and the Goya Painting

The church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción dominates the Plaza Mayor from above. It was begun in 1534 and not finished until 1626, almost a century of works, so it mixes Gothic, Plateresque, Renaissance and Baroque. Inside it holds the town's most valuable piece: The Assumption of the Virgin, the canvas that Goya painted in 1812 and that still hangs at the centre of the high altar.

The church without a tower

It is the other half of the local saying: Chinchón has "a tower without a church and a church without a tower". The tower without a church is the Clock Tower, all that remained of the parish of Gracia; this church, by contrast, has no tower of its own. For a time it was called Nuestra Señora de la Piedad.

The main chapel was completed thanks to the 3rd Count of Chinchón, who in 1586 paid for the works and brought masters who had worked at El Escorial. In return, the count reserved for himself and his successors a crypt under the high altar.

The Goya painting

The story of the canvas is a family affair. The Infante Don Luis, Goya's protector, arranged for Camilo, the painter's brother, to become chaplain of this church. When French troops ravaged Chinchón in December 1808, the church suffered damage to the roof and the ornaments, and Camilo asked his brother for a painting to make up for the destruction inside. Goya painted the Assumption in 1812. He spent long periods in the town and witnessed that siege: on the back of one of the drawings of the Disasters of War he wrote "El de Chinchón" (the one from Chinchón).

When to go in

There are no published visiting hours. It is a parish church in use: go in before or after Mass, in silence and without flash, and avoid services. The sure way to see it with an explanation is the Sunday guided tour, organised by the tourist office from October to May, which goes into the church as well as the Teatro Lope de Vega. Groups have their own packages through the same office.

How to get there and what to combine

From the Plaza Mayor you climb on foot up steps and short slopes; from the top you see the whole square. A step away are the Clock Tower and the theatre, and on the other side of the old town the Counts' Castle. If you are looking for somewhere to eat nearby, the Parador restaurant occupies the former Augustinian convent, a few minutes away.