During the Renaissance more than a dozen hospitals came into use in Úbeda, promoted as much by the Crown as by private initiative in order to combat the grave problems of poverty and social marginalisation of the time. Of them, one of the few to have survived is the Hospital of the Honourable and Venerated Elderly of El Salvador (the Saviour).

This hospital was founded in 1392 at the behest of Bishop Narváez to protect the elderly who could no longer take care of themselves. In the 16th century, the building had to give over some grounds to the Secretary of King Carlos V, Francisco de los Cobos, so that he could build the chapel of El Salvador. In Exchange, he donated generously to the hospital which served to transform its structure.

In 1548, Andrés de Vandelvira drafted the conditions to build a church in the hospital. Along with the church, a patio was built in 1552, which is considered one of the most Mannerist of the town. Nowadays only two galleries have been preserved, through which foliage has been creeping over the years giving the building an air of romantic decline.

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