Hospital de San Juan de Acre

Hospital de San Juan de Acre | Wikicommons. Autor: Tamorlan

The San Juan de Acre Hospital is located in Navarrete, a town in La Rioja. The building is an important vestige of the medieval history of the Camino de Santiago and its foundation dates back to the 12th century. 

It formerly served as a pilgrim hostel, marking the border point between Christian and Muslim areas during the Reconquista. Another detail that we cannot ignore is its name, which refers to the defense of the walls of Acre (Israel) by the knights of the Order of Malta. 

Although it is true that the hospital was destroyed in the 19th century, leaving it practically in ruins, its Romanesque style façade was preserved to the present day and installed as main access to the Navarrete cemetery. In the early 90s and during several excavations carried out in the area, several main walls that belonged to the hospital were found.