Adapting a Pantheon to a Lineage's Memory. The Collegiate Church of Belmonte and the Marquises of Villena

Abstract

This paper aims to uncover the origins of the close relationship between the memory of the Pachecos, the marquises of Villena, and the collegiate church of Belmonte. It analyses the changes the collegiate church underwent during the first decades of its existence. The first part will propose that the building had been conceived around 1456 as the religious centre of a new capital for the Marquisate of Villena. The second section will explain that the church also functioned as the family’s first pantheon. Created with a retrospective purpose in mind, it showcased the connections between the temple’s founder and his ancestors. The last chapter will be devoted to the changes the church suffered when it was replaced by El Parral, a new funerary church with a prospective intention that projected its discourse towards the future of the Pacheco dynasty.