The church of San Juan Bautista is the other major church of Vélez-Málaga's historic centre, located a short walk from Santa María la Mayor in the lower part of the old town. Also built in the late 15th and 16th centuries, it shows the transition from late Gothic to Renaissance styles that characterises Spanish ecclesiastical architecture of the period after the Reconquista.
The interior has a fine baroque altarpiece and preserves some good retablo work from the 16th and 17th centuries. The church tower is a prominent landmark in the lower town and visible from several streets. Vélez-Málaga has a strong Holy Week (Semana Santa) procession tradition, and San Juan Bautista is one of the focal churches for the Easter week brotherhoods — the imagery you'll see on the streets around the church during that period represents some of the finest religious processional art in the region. Outside Holy Week it's quieter, but worth a look on any visit to the historic centre.