Antequera, Spain--Collegiate

Cathedrals have clerical members called canons that have special rights and duties. Collegiates have the same -- but are not attached to the bishop. Instead a Collegiate is created and disbanded only by the pope. Typically Collegiates served as centers of learning (since medieval societies had so few who were educated, they would congregate in institutions such as these.) It was a big deal for a town to get a Collegiate.

A plethora of arches

In the top picture, note that we have 3 more Roman arches here, embedded into the front of this 3-nave building. (The center arch is lower but than the sides but its door is much more grand). At top we have some Venetian Gothic pinnacles. A bit of architectural transition is going on here. (Pretend you don’t see that asymmetrical steeple for now).

Let's get closer to the Royal Collegiate Church of Santa Maria la Mayor, built from 1515-1550, a century after the Christians had driven the Moors out of Antequera but only a few decades after their final expulsion from nearby Granada. This building was designed by "arch"-itect Pedro del Campo and was one of the first Renaissance churches in Spain in the "columnar Andalusian" style (despite its Gothic pinnacles.) Note that the reliefs within these arches are arches themselves. Some of the stones from this facade were recycled from Roman ruins. However, the tower threatened the Renaissance symmetry when it was added in the 17th century. What were they thinking?

A sparse interior

Inside the collegiate, eclecticism runs rampant: Ionic columns support a Mudejar ceiling and separate Roman-arched naves. Late September light streams into this nearly emptied space, making it the antithesis of the dark-interiored Gothic cathedrals which came before. Today this large room hosts concerts and lectures where once clerics sang vespers. (In 1692, the Collegiate as an institution moved down the hill to San Sebastian church which we'll explore on an upcoming page.)

Plenty of arches here lead to recessed chapels.

Faith afloat

Oh no, you're thinking: another float with a statue of Mary. But now for something completely different! True, most old Andalusian churches store floats to be carried in fiesta parades. But many of those are medieval or Baroque sculptures in silver or gold. Instead, here we have a modern recreation of a 1760 float of a lady on a castle (signifying her invulnerability) riding on a seven-headed monster.

It's called a "Tarasca" -- half serpent, half lady. (Most guys have had dates like that but would rather talk about football.) In some cities, it is the traditional first float in the procession for the feast of Corpus Christi going all the way back to the Baroque period. Such parades would be lead by the image of a monster -- often ridden by a woman who represented faith, and its ability to defeat monstrous sins.

This Tarasca lady carries a monstrance, the traditional display in Catholic churches of the Eucharistic host (the Corpus Christi). The monster has seven heads to represent, of course, seven deadly sins.

Quiz of the day: how many of these sins can you name without running to Wikipedia?
According to a Wiki-ed source, the seven deadly sins are: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and the excessive checking of pseudo facts online.

Note here the upper balconies contain blind arches.

A Mudejar ceiling

Above right is a neck-breaking shot of the 16th century Mudejar ceiling. Around the time this was built, the Moors were allowed to stay in Spain as long as they converted to Christianity. This left a lot of skilled craftsmen to help rebuild the Granada area with fusion Christian/Mudejar churches. Unfortunately, they were eventually expelled.

Simple altar

The altar area is quite simple and, because it is a museum, relatively unadorned of most liturgical accouterments except for the Crucifix and candlesticks. Here the columns are Corinthian and the overall feel is one of neo-classic restraint.

Plaza de Escribanos

Let's take one last look at the first picture at the top of this page. In it, the Roman bath ruins will be on our left. As the one-time center for learning in Antequera, this building and its patio -- called the Plaza de Escribanos (Square of the Writers) -- is a fitting place for a statue (left) of Pedro de Espinosa. Espinosa was a Baroque poet (you can imagine how flowery his language would be) who anthologized the great poets of his day (around 1500). He's early in the Golden Age of Spanish Literature (1500-1650). Over the fenced precipice at left are the ruins of the Roman baths.

Join us there to explore more of the Collegiate plaza area including the Alcazaba fort by clicking here.

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

Antequera, Spain