Church of the Hospital de la Concepción. The “Hospitalito”

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The church and charity hospital was built in 1592 and 1598, respectively, according to the inscription on the entrance’s entablature.

The single-nave Church has a high choir at the west end, separated from the presbytery by a bossed, toral arch. The nave is covered with a polygonal frame, as is the presbytery. The keystone is emblazoned with the founder’s coat of arms. At the west end of the nave is an arcade covered with wooden lattices installed in the 18th century. It is decorated with plasterwork with Mannerist motifs such as brackets and tondos.

The 17th-century high altarpiece features images of St Michael and St Christopher on the side panels and St Anne with the Virgin in the cap. The central niche holds an image of the Immaculate Conception from 1600 attributed to Gaspar Núñez Delgado.

The Church is accessed through the entrance mentioned above, which has two levels. The lower level has a bossed, semi-circular opening and the upper one is centred around a niche with a stone sculpture of the Virgin Mary, and the founder’s coats of arms and the foundation date on the sides. The entrance is protected by a large wooden pentice covered with Arab tiles. The front façade gable stands over the pentice.

The bell gable over the entrance was added to the building around the second half of the 18th century. It consists of a belfry with a single semi-circular arch, flanked by curving undulating pilasters and topped by a split triangular pediment.

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