Royal Parish Church of Santa María Magdalena

2225

Imagen de la fachada de la real parroquia de santa maría magdalena, donde se ve grupos de personas esperando para entrar y árboles tapando parte del edificio

Imagen más cerca de la puerta de entrada principal de la real parroquia de santa maría magdalena con personas en la puerta y los árboles dando sombra a la fachada

The old parish church of Santa María Magdalena must have been built on top of an old mosque. In the time of King Peter I, as a result of the strong earthquake of 1355, it was rebuilt in the Gothic-Mudejar style similar to other churches in the town.

In 1692, Leonardo de Figueroa began the construction of the current temple that was consecrated on 22 October 1724, creating one of the most impressive baroque temples in the town, with a successful polychromy, the exuberance of the plasterwork and the use of brick and tile.

During the Napoleonic invasion, the town was transformed by widening streets and opening new squares, usually at the expense of convents and churches. Thus in 1811 the old temple was demolished to make the current La Magdalena square, moving to the church of the convent of San Pablo el Real, returning to its old temple in 1817. After being demolished in 1842, the parish was finally installed in the current church. Within its walls, the first seat of the Inquisition could be found, as well as a tombstone on its façade that reminds us that Fray Bartolomé de las Casas was consecrated here as Bishop of Chiapas in 1544.

The artistic heritage it contains is impressive because of its richness and aesthetic qualities. Its spectacular cycle of mural paintings was made by Lucas Valdés and Clemente de Torres. The main altarpiece is the second largest in the town, after that of the Seville Cathedral. Other side altarpieces include sculptures by Roque de Balduque (Virgen del Amparo), Juan Bautista Vázquez el Viejo (Virgen de las Fiebres), Jerónimo Hernández (Resucitado y Niño Jesús), Gaspar del Águila (Nazareno de las Fatigas), Juan Martínez Montañés (San José con el Niño) and Juan de Mesa (Asunción), among others.

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