Església de Santa Maria de Xaló

Xaló’s parish church sits just off Plaça Major. Building work stalled for over a decade during the Peninsular War, and only resumed after a bequest from the Duquesa de Almodóvar, the last lady of the Barony of Xaló and Llíber.

The floor plan is a Latin cross, topped with the blue-tiled dome that turns up all along this stretch of coast. The façade is plain by comparison, with a bell tower on its south side.

Inside stands the Virgen Pobre, Xaló’s patron saint. She is regularly brought out of the church and carried through the village in procession: on 15 August, the Assumption, with special Masses through the day, and again in mid-October for the village fiesta of the Mare de Déu Pobra. I’ve stood in that crowd myself: it’s a lovely tradition to be part of, and it’s worth planning a visit around if you’re here in mid-August or mid-October.

Mass is held daily at 19:00 (20:00 on Saturdays), and on Sunday mornings at 11:00.