The church of Saints Johns is also popularly known as “Saint John of the Market” because of its location next to the market area. This square, already in the 13th century, was the main open space in the city and civic center par excellence.
The deep Baroque redecoration also spans the outside, and the three doorways are renewed using a Baroque language. Also noteworthy on its own is the rear façade which overlooks the Market Square. Designed by 1700 as a magnificent stone altarpiece over a terrace, it became a place to perform religious plays.
Different historical events give the Parish of Saints Johns an added value. The first sermon of Saint Vincent Ferrer in the city, in 1410, is located in this church. There is a belief that it was in the chapel of Saint Anthony of Padua where the Valencian painter Francisco Ribalta (1565-1628) was buried. The “pardal de Sant Joan” (Saint John’s bird) is another interesting fact. That is the name for the vane put on top of the façade depicting the eagle of the Apocalypse and, according to the tradition, children were told to look at it when their humble parents abandoned them in the square.
