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.
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.
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.
As 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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.
As 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.
