Architectural History and Cultural Continuity in Buenache de Alarcón 1

Buenache de Alarcón, a municipality situated in the province of Cuenca within the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha, is a settlement whose history is deeply interwoven with the La Mancha plain. The town's documented history dates back to the Middle Ages, gaining prominence following the establishment of a majorazgo by Pedro de Alarcón in 1466. Administratively, the municipality is currently led by Mayor Raquel Hortelano Ojeda and, as of the 2024 data from the National Statistics Institute (INE), maintains a resident population of 440 inhabitants.

The civic center of the town is defined by the Plaza Mayor, anchored by the Town Hall, a structure whose eighteenth-century facade bears the inscription of the year 1802. The principal religious site, the Church of San Pedro Apóstol, is a significant example of architectural evolution, officially declared a Site of Cultural Interest by the regional government of Castilla-La Mancha in 2011. Originating in the sixteenth century, the temple displays foundational late Romanesque elements, including a semicircular apse with a medieval embrasure, though later additions have resulted in a complex exterior of cubic forms.

Internally, the Church of San Pedro Apóstol features a tripartite nave configuration, with the central nave rising above the two flanking aisles, separated by arches of varying spans. A notable feature is the roofing system, which incorporates polychromed Mudéjar coffered ceilings throughout the structure, contrasting with the specialized vaulting found in side chapels, such as the northern one containing a Gothic bifora window. The main altar houses a Baroque altarpiece characterized by Solomonic columns, a later insertion that partially obscures the original apse curvature. The church’s layered history reflects Gothic, Moorish, Romanesque, and Renaissance influences.

The town’s urban layout includes Calle de San Sebastián, which crosses the now-channeled Arroyo de la Vega, near the small Hermitage of San Isidro, formally renamed in 1987 to honor the patron saint of peasants. Two other hermitages exist nearby, necessitated by the inundation of their original locations following the construction of the Alarcón reservoir. The Hermitage of San Antón was reconstructed in 1948 using compensation funds after its initial site was submerged, and the original hermitage dedicated to the patron saint, the Virgen de la Estrella, was similarly relocated in the 1940s or 1950s, with annual festivities continuing each September.

Buenache de Alarcón, located in the Manchuela region, possesses a heritage spanning over 2,500 years, having been inhabited by diverse groups including Jews, Arabs, and Christians. The town's name may derive from the Latin 'Bona-civitas,' referencing its ancient settlement near the Arroyo Torrejón, the site of an Iron Age necropolis dating to approximately 400 B.C. The suffix 'de Alarcón' was added to distinguish it from other localities named 'Buenache' after its incorporation into the Villa y Tierra de Alarcón following the Christian Reconquista.

The structure of the Church of San Pedro Apóstol, which faced concerns over roof collapse risk leading to its inclusion on the 2014 World Monuments Watch list, underscores the ongoing challenges in preserving this complex architectural record.