Plaza Vázquez de Molina -- continued

Úbeda, Jaén, Spain

 Visited 19 October 2008
Let’s continue our visit with a few more Andres Vandelvira buildings on Ubeda’s monumental Plaza Vázquez de Molina.


What an old folks home!

Just east of the Sacra Capilla del Salvador is the courtyard of the Honrados Viejos del Salvador Hospital (below) where a charitable foundation dating back to 1392 took care of the disabled and elderly in this Italian-inspired building which was completely rebuilt in the 16th century when the neighborhood went Renaissance upscale. It's front is also by Andres de Vandelvira. Unfortunately, only these two (non matching) double-arched sides of the rectangular courtyard remain of the original courtyard.

Úbeda, Spain


The Church of Santa Maria de los Reales Alcazares


The Church of Santa Maria de los Reales Alcazares (pictured at the top of this page) sits across from the de los Cobos palace on the Plaza Vázquez de Molina. Its name suggests that it was built where the Moors had their Alcazar. (Spain’s rulers tore the Alcazar down after the Reconquista to try to get Úbeda’s feuding noble families to calm down). Santa Maria replaced a mosque (and seems to have taken the squarish shape of churches that sit on old mosque sites). Before that, the Romans may have had a temple here to Diane. Even before that, this was a Bronze Age settlement. The Christians took back the town in the year 1233 and started building their new parish church with the long name of High Parish Church of Santa Maria de los Reales Alcazares and Our Lady of the Assumption. Úbeda, Spain Funny, there is no Assumption pictured on the facade -- only the Immaculate Conception statue above a Nativity relief which fell during the 1755 Lisbon earthquake.

Severely damaged during the Spanish Civil War, Santa Maria has been closed for restoration since 1983 so we couldn't see what is supposedly a magnificent Gothic cloister built on what was the mosque courtyard. Original construction started in the 13th century and extended through the 19th so we have elements of Gothic, Mudejar, Renaissance and Baroque styles here. During the 1980s, architects feared the building was becoming unstable and started dismantling the interior dome until they realized that the problem was really in the foundation.

Úbeda, SpainAs on the Capilla del Salvador nearby, these double columns (at right) define niches for statues on either side of the main entrance. Here we have the statues, but, alas, no heads. Some claim these were Saints Peter and Paul, others that they are of fellow apostles Andrew and Phillip.

Úbeda, Spain

The Corinthian capitals and the reclining angels above them, however, seem to be doing just fine. (You may need to click on the picture at left to enlarge it so see that kind of detail).


The twin bell towers (done in 1888 by Philip Vara) seem to pay homage to the frequent Úbeda Renaissance style of Corinthian columns on the first floor and Ionic columns above -- even if only in relief.

Úbeda, Spain

This facade was designed in 1604 by Martín López Alcaraz, a follower of the same Vandelvira who architected or influenced most of the other buildings on this square during the previous century. (We'll see a close-up of the Adoration of the Shepherd at the Nativity at center in a few pictures.) The steeples were added in the 19th century replacing the damaged mosque minaret which had been incorporated into the Christian church but which fell during the 1755 Lisbon earthquake.

Úbeda, Spain

The central frieze (above) is by Luis de Zayas who also sculpted some of the church's interior. Here he depicts the shepherds summoned to the Nativity. An angel above them seems to have lost his balance and is about fall from the curlicue clouds above onto the Child in the manger (who is quite large for having just been born.) Judging from their faces, Joseph has had a tough night but Mary stays serene. Just below them is a bit of the coat-of-arms of Don Sancho Dávila who was bishop when the facade was created.

Úbeda, Spain

Supposedly inside we have 16 chapels plus burial niches for Úbeda’s blue book (except for the de los Cobos brood who, of course, had their own mausoleum chapel a hundred yards away). Above is the more restrained ---but still quite lovely -- side facade.

The Palacio del Marqués de Mancera

Many other Renaissance buildings line the square, but let's look at only one more: the Palacio del Marqués de Mancera. This building was based upon some of the previous palaces by Vandelvira (one, of which, we'll see in minute.) Inside it contains the typical courtyard separating two colonnaded floors. The first Marquis of Mancera and his brother were the only individuals to ever live here.

The Palacio del Marqués de Mancera The Palacio del Marqués de Mancera
The Palacio del Marqués de Mancera The Palacio del Marqués de Mancera

This mannerist building is one of the most typical examples of the evolution of the medieval house-tower (pictured above right) which by the late 16th century was falling out of fashion but which was revived here in a Renaissance building. We'll see similar decoration and galleries in several other Vandelvira mansions in Úbeda.

Two brothers built the palace. The better known of them was Don Pedro de Toledo who was a Marquis (nobleman), a viceroy (governor) in South America.  Today this Palacio is used as a convent.  The lower left picture shows a relief which adorns the second floor of the observation tower. Supposedly it's suggestive of the Greek god Eros (here Christianized with a cross) triumphing over Thanatos (the Greek god of Death). The right lower picture shows two security devices: the classic wrought iron and the modern security camera. Maybe too much progress here?

Let's leave Ubeda’s monumental Plaza Vázquez de Molina square and walk directly north of it to a much less ornamented square used by the Úbedeños.  Join us by clicking here.







Please join us in the following slide show to give Úbeda the viewing it deserves by clicking here.

Úbeda, Spain


Previous: Capilla del Salvador            Next:Ayuntamiento Square 


Geek and Legal Stuff

Please allow JavaScript to enable word definitions.

This page has been tested in Internet Explorer 7.0 and Firefox 3.0.

Created on 15 February 2009

Click to see more about the author

TIP: DoubleClick on any word to see its definition. Warning: you may need to enable javascript or allow blocked content (for this page only).
TIP: Click on any picture to see it full size. PC users, push F11 to see it even larger.
TIP: See the rest of our travel pictures by clicking here.
TIP: See these pictures as a slide show by clicking here.
<