The church of Santiago Apóstol de Santa Cruz de la Zarza was built on the previous small church that the Santiaguista knights ordered to be built around 1180. The plans of this building were made by the master in geometry Sebastián de Lezana in 1559, and the masters Juan Barbariola, father and son, residents of Santa Cruz de la Zarza and authors of many works, were in charge of its construction.

The church has a Latin cross plan with three naves. The central nave is made up of two sections, plus the rear “sotocoro” (choir loft). This nave is higher than the lateral ones, opens in its half-barrel vault. Behind the cornice, thermal windows generating lunettes in the vault.

The construction had pathology of differential settlements in foundations because approximately half of its surface is on firm ground and the other half on a 12th-century landfill.

The rehabilitation works carried out in the church consisted mainly of the underpinning of the building by micro-piles, repair of facades and cracks, restoration of the tower, and replacement of the interior pavement.