Parroquia de San Lorenzo
The Parroquia de San Lorenzo is Zagra's principal church and is dedicated to Saint Lawrence (San Lorenzo), the town’s patron saint. The original church is believed to date to the mid-16th century, shortly after Castilian settlers arrived following the Christian conquest of the area.
Much of its early history was lost when the Spanish Civil War destroyed parish records. Although a church already existed in Zagra, the village did not yet have its own parish. Instead, Zagra and its surrounding hamlets were under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Iglesia de la Encarnación in Loja. Priests from Loja travelled to the settlement to celebrate Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation for the small community that would later develop into the present- day town. In return, Zagra residents contributed quantities of wheat and barley, which they sold to earn up to 100 ducats, a historical Spanish monetary unit.
In 1787, the Iglesia de San Lorenzo became an independent parish from the Iglesia de la Encarnación. It maintained its own sacramental records, cemetery, and parish priest. The church suffered significant damage and loss of its artistic treasures during the Spanish Civil War, including altarpieces, paintings, and religious images. After the war, it was rebuilt in a much simpler form.
The original building was demolished in 1967, and the present church was built on the same site, with further refurbishment in 1992. Architecturally, the church has a simple, modern appearance that reflects its 20th century reconstruction. Notable features include the stone-framed entrance, bell tower, and a Sevillian-style ceramic mural of San Lorenzo on the main façade, installed in 2008 by the Santa Ana de Triana Artistic Ceramics Workshops of Seville.
Inside, the church houses a small 18th century wooden cross in the sacristy and two Oriental-style icons flanking the presbytery, painted by Don Jesús Ramírez, the parish priest who also oversaw the church’s last major restoration in 1992. Located in Plaza Antonio Ortega.