Churches built with Sherry money appear on nearly every block in the old city. Here’s the church of Our Lady of Victory near the Roma (Gypsy) barrio. This was built as a convent in the 16th century but the residence area has been converted to house civilians while the chapel remains as a church – and a headquarters for one of the brotherhoods who carry elaborate floats in processions during religious festivals.
Above is the front of the Church of San Juan de los Caballeros (St. John of the Knights). When King Alfonso the Wise took Jerez de la Frontera in 1264, he created six parishes. Tradition holds that the king’s knights signed a document here pledging to defend the city on behalf of Alfonso’s successor, Sancho IV. There was much dispute about who should succeed Alfonso X, so Sancho needed these commitments.
Fitting for knights, this 15th century church resembles a fortress except for the 17th century facades around the front and side doors. The façade shown here rises to a bell tower capped in blue azulejo tile. The lower section is attributed to Alonso Vandelvira, the son of Andalusia’s great Renaissance architect Andrew. The tip-off is the double Tuscan columns – a frequent motif of the younger Vandelvira. But son Alonso's greatest contribution was not in stone but in ink: He documented his famous father’s ideas on stone cutting. That text would train countless architects in both the old and new Spanish worlds.
On San Juan plaza, within yards of the church of San Juan de los Caballeros, is the more recent church of the Inmaculada (Immaculate Conception).
This building seems to pay homage to the older churches of Jerez using modern materials including these tile inlays.
But why this town would need another church nearly next door to their 15th century Suan Juan de los Caballeros with its Baroque interior is puzzling.
Most tourists think of Jerez as the home to horses and liqueur, but it can lay claim (over which it fights with Seville) as the home of the Flamenco.
Flamenco developed as a folk art among the Roma (often called Gypsies) who migrated into the fertile mix of Arab, Christian, and Jewish populations of Andalusia. It is to Andalusia what Jazz is to Americans.
Unfortunately, we arrived on a bank holiday and so could not see inside The Centro Andaluz de Flamenco (shown above), now occupying a residence of one of the noble Villavicencio gang now called the Permartin Palace. (This was built in the second half of the 18th century, about a century after the pink palace in the alcázar that housed the Villavicencio governors). This building now houses the largest public archives relating to the flamenco art form. While performances are held here often, the largest flamenco festival occurs at the bull fighting stadium during the activities around the grape harvest.
In Arab days, the Jerez’s walls were 2.5 miles long and enclosed about 115 acres housing 16,000 inhabitants. Today, only the Alcazar is protected by the walls although towers such as this are often incorporated into the cityscape.
This historic section often retains its classic
doorways. Below is another spectacular Baroque doorway on
the bishop’s palace on Arroyo square that leads to
the cathedral. Note the twisted Plateresque pillars on
each side of the door…
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...and the detailed folds around the ciborium on the second floor (above right) over the ornate balcony. Note the papal flag here. This palace is one of several elegant 18th century civil buildings on Arroyo Square, just in front of the cathedral. Arroyo Square is the oldest part of Jerez and once the site of bullfights and equestrian shows.
A candidate for best Plateresque window in town (or maybe any town except that it could use a bit of restoration) is this 1537 corner window of the otherwise plain palace of Ponce de Leon de Gracia, the oldest Renaissance palace in Jerez.
Builders of Spanish Renaissance palaces would often add such elaborate corner windows to impress viewers on both streets as to their prestige. The concept was thought to have been borrowed from Flanders where such decorated windows would be carved in wood.
This particular window seems to have been commissioned to commemorate a marriage (note the relief figures of male (right) and female (left). Family shields (probably of husband and wife) are interspersed at the bottom between angels with seriously bent necks. The inscription seems to suggest the Vanity of Vanities from the Book of Ecclesiastes.
Above is the Church of our Lady of Mount Carmel, named after Mary’s appearance on a cave-filled mountain in northern Israel held sacred all the way back to at least the Canaanites and forward to the prophet Elijah. While the order of the Carmelites started there, it was considerably revived here in Andalusian Spain. Consequently, churches in honor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel are found in most towns near the coast.
Jerez is known for its festival on Our Lady of Mount Carmel's July feast day. What we see here is pretty typical of Jerez churches: plain on the exterior except for Plateresque or Baroque doorways. The tile plaque honors some 1925 event and seems to be covering a window on this otherwise symmetrical frontage. It shaves the top of another typical Andalusian Renaissance round window. If you can cut stone like that, do it!.
The revival of the Carmelites in Andalusia is primarily the work of St. John of the Cross who assisted Saint Teresa of Ávila in the second half of the 16th century in reviving the discipline of the order. Nearly every town in this area had a Carmelite convent.
In Spain, the Mount Carmel Mary is also the patron of the navy (a big deal in this one-time world empire) and is known as Mary, Star of the Sea. Some of you remember scapulars (admit it, now). Carmelites were big proponents of these dog-tag like talismans. You couldn’t be sent to hell if you were wearing one. Maybe the original “get out of jail free” card.
The second story of the entrance façade is small and delicate, but still too large for the statue of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. Note the curtains, such folds let Baroque sculptors show off their craft. This area seems to have been well restored…
Yet the tower sprouts grass although otherwise seems to be in good shape. The Carmelites were great rivals of the Jesuits and the feud was so intense that the Pope had to put a stop to it in 1698 by threatening excommunication for anyone who furthered the rivalry.
and about those Jesuits. Here is their Jerez building,
now a multi-use cultural center as it has nearly perfect
acoustics. It’s a medium sized venue and its
in the heart of the Flamenco district. The Plateresque
façade remains along with the painting of Jesuits
in black. At left, hiding behind the tree in the picture
above, is the seal of the Jesuits...
...which may look familiar to those of you who have
served time under that order. Note the letters ihs from
IHΣ, the first three Greek letters of Jesus’
name. Most of the other symbolism is adapted from
Ignatius Loyola’s family crest including the red
bands which represent seven brothers in his ancestry who
fought bravely in the 1300s.
This elegant 19th century neoclassical mansion in the
upscale neighborhood an easy walk from the old city is
now the Palacio del Tiempo – the clock museum.
It’s called the Palacete de la Atalaya. We
couldn’t enjoy its lovely gardens, complete with
peacocks, because the rains were fairly unrelenting.
Fortunately inside was dry. There we were treated to a combination of high tech (i.e. holograms) displays and over 300 old fashioned clocks from various eras stretching back to the 16th century. This may be the largest collection of valuable clocks in the world. Yes, we were there at noon when many of them went off in approximate synchronization. The digital clock in my camera time stamped it all. In Spain at the Museo de los Relojes, the bell tolls (or beeps or buzzes) for thee.
Our last Jerez page discusses the famous Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art, featuring the horses that are this town's pride. Please join us by clicking here.
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Please join us in the following slide show to give Jerez de la Frontera the viewing it deserves by clicking here. |
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