THE SACRED CHAPEL OF EL SALVADOR (THE SAVIOUR)

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  2. THE SACRED CHAPEL OF EL SALVADOR (THE SAVIOUR)

This church is the most ambitious of all the private architecture of the 16th century in the town. It is a pantheon whose construction was ordered by Francisco de los Cobos, the highest dignitary of imperial Spain, in order for him to be buried in the town of his birth. The funerary nature of the building is demonstrated by its floor plan: its circular apse, which follows the classic model of the Pantheon in Rome and where nobles were buried, joins a long nave for worshippers, its shape resembling the head and torso of the human body.

The Sacred Chapel El Salvador has a highly ornate Plateresque entrance in which the Transfiguration of Jesus sits side by side with mythological scenes. Among these the “juancaballos” stand out. They are centaurs; creatures who were half man and half horse and who terrorised the people of Úbeda in medieval times. Such was the fear of their attacks that they were immortalised on this facade as a plea for divine protection. From 2016 you can admire the statue “San Juanito” inside the church. It is the only Michelangelo sculpture on display in Spain and has been restored since it was almost completely destroyed during the civil war. “Saint John the Baptist as a Child”, the full name of the piece, was donated by the Duke of Florence to Francisco de los Cobos as Secretary to King Carlos V.

SIGN LANGUAGE


Simple Language
SIMPLE LANGUAGE

This church is the best private chapel in the town
and one of the best in Spain.
Francisco de los Cobos ordered its construction in the 16th century
in order to be buried in it.
The architect Diego de Siloé designed the church
and Andrés de Vandelvira directed the works.
It has a circular apse, under which is the tomb,
and a rectangular nave, separated by an enormous grille.
It boasts a highly decorated facade
where religious scenes mix with depictions of other mythologies.
One example is the centaurs,
mythical beings that are half man, half horse,
popularly known as the “juancaballos”.
The building has another two beautiful doorways on the sides
and a tall bell tower.
Soon the sculpture of
“St. John the Baptist as a Child”,
known as “Young St. John”, will be on display inside.
It is the only sculpture by Michelangelo that exists in Spain.

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Contact information
Plaza De Vázquez De Molina, 23400 Úbeda, Jaén, Spain
www.fundacionmedinaceli.org
609 279 905