ArtistMark Parascandola
Iglesia de las Salinas
Date2005
MediumArchival pigment print
Dimensions20 × 24 in. (50.8 × 61 cm)
Credit LineDC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Art Bank Collection
Object numberDCCAH2007.062
ClassificationsPhotographs
Locations
- Information Systems (1350 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, STE13)
DescriptionThis image is part of a series titled ‘Once Upon a Time in Almeria,’ which focuses on the architecture and locations used in classic films made in Almeria, Spain, during the 1960s and 1970s. Films shot here include “Cleopatra,” “Lawrence of Arabia,” “Patton,” and Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns starring Clint Eastwood. The Iglesia de Las Salinas de Cabo de Gata is a Catholic church constructed in 1907 to serve workers from the nearby salt refinery. Just meters away from the Mediterranean Sea, the building has become weather-beaten by wind and sea salt over the years. In “Patton” (1970), the church appears in the background when British Commander Field Marshal Montgomery, battling the Germans on the east coast of Sicily, learns that General Patton plans to take Messina and vows to beat him to it. More recent films have also passed through here, including “Half of Oscar” (2010) and “Living Is Easy with Eyes Closed” (2013).
