The church of Saint Martin dominates the skyline of Cevico de la Torre from the hillside on which it stands, an elevated site that once served as a vantage point overlooking the valley.
To reach the church, one must climb its 96 stone steps.
The church was built in the last quarter of the 16th century, in the austere Herrerian style, recognisable by the geometric purity of its forms and the almost total absence of ornamentation in its architecture. It features a single nave, a transept and a polygonal apse, whilst at the foot rises the slender tower, comprising four sections dating from the 17th century and a later Neoclassical finial.
Inside, the ceilings display a combination of architectural solutions: groined vaults decorated with diamond-point plasterwork in the nave, a barrel vault in the transept and an elegant semi-dome with Baroque plasterwork in the main chapel. The sacristy retains a small Baroque dome supported by pendentives.
The church houses a significant artistic heritage. In the Gospel aisle, there is a 16th-century baptismal font and several sculptures dating from the 16th to the 18th centuries, including an image of Christ on the cross and carvings of St John the Baptist, St Michael and St Sebastian. The high altarpiece, created between 1666 and 1670 by Cristóbal Ruiz de Andino and Antonio de Villota, features scenes such as the Last Supper, the Resurrection and the Assumption, alongside sculptures of Saint Martin himself and an expressive Calvary.
The collection is rounded off by notable pieces such as an 18th-century ivory Christ and a 13th-century Romanesque Virgin.
The 18th-century Baroque organ is of great interest due to its sound quality, its craftsmanship and the unique beauty of its case.
