The robust Church of Santa María stands majestically in Santa María Square, on the remains of the old Main Mosque of the Alcázar de Aryuna.

It was transformed into a Christian temple after the conquest of Arjona by the Christian troops led by King Fernando III in 1244.

In The Templar Tombstone this temple is of great importance because on one of its facades there is one of the famous Templars Baphomet, a very significant element in the plot.

The Church of Santa María is a completely austere Renaissance building with external ornamentation, with stylistic approaches to Elizabethan Gothic art.

The temple stands as a church with a military or fortress aspect, surrounded by buttresses. In 1936, the Church was set on fire and suffered serious damage: doors, chapels … (a fact that the author reflects in the work The Templar Tombstone). The current appearance of the Church is a result of the reforms it experienced after this destruction.

Since 1843, the Church of Santa María has guarded the images of the Patrons of the town San Bonoso and San Maximiano to protect them since the seizure of Mendizábal.

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(…) They crossed the esplanade of the orange trees and took to the church of Santa María. The side portal, with a beautiful Gothic arch, reproduced the original lost when the 1936 fire, which completely destroyed the temple, leaving only four walls. Fortunately, the Bafomet from the old pictures was still on the main facade (…)