Ermita de San Sebastián. Cella
In one of the most emblematic areas of the town, very close to its famous fountain and situated on one of the highest points of the village, is the hermitage of San Sebastián, restored in 2005 by an employment workshop of the same name, with great respect for its structural and architectural elements. In addition to worship on the day of the town’s patron saint (20 January), thanks to its restoration and its spacious and comfortable interior, the hermitage is also used for secular purposes such as a music auditorium and other cultural activities.
The chapel has a single large nave with a double-channeled wooden roof. At the front is the altar (also used as a stage for cultural activities), which is separated from the rest of the nave by a step. An altarpiece dedicated to the martyr saint is preserved on the altar. At the foot of the chapel is the choir area, which is accessed by a wooden staircase that has been restored by the employment workshop. At the main entrance, the date 1693 is sculpted on one of the voussoirs above the door frame.
The fact that Cella belonged to the Community of Teruel and the latter to the Archdeacon is the reason for the following information: On 13 January 1520, the vicar general of the archbishopric of Saragossa, Don Bartolomé Castillo, granted permission to the residents of Cella to build a chapel dedicated to San Sebastián in the part of the municipality that they thought best.
Above the entrance door to the hermitage there is a date engraved in stone: 1693.
Doctor Ginés Martínez, vicar general of the bishopric of Teruel, in the visit he made to the parish of Cella in 1628 ordered “the stewards of the company of San Sebastián to give an account of the obligations, orders, expenses and collections”. This indicates that prior to the construction of the current chapel there was already another chapel with its corresponding brotherhood.