Subbetica

Chapel of La Vera Cruz

Chapel of La Vera Cruz

Interior austero con bóveda de cañón, frescos del siglo XVIII y esculturas históricas, ideal para amantes del arte y la historia.

The construction of the chapel and its adjoining hospital is thought to have begun with the founding of the brotherhood of the same name in 1555, although its current appearance is the result of numerous alterations.

It features an austere exposed-brick façade with a bell gable and an interior comprising a single nave covered by a lowered barrel vault with transverse arches and lunettes featuring oculus windows on one side. The chancel is covered by a half-dome resting on pendentives, decorated with interesting frescoes from the 1730s depicting the Holy Trinity, Our Lady of Sorrows and the Apostles.

The main altarpiece, also dating from the same period and crafted in Granada, features a central archway housing the image of María Santísima de la Sangre, a dressed Virgin of Sorrows created by Pedro de Mena in 1672; flanking it are the images of Saint Nicholas of Bari and Saint Francis Xavier.

The walls of the church also feature an image of Jesus tied to the column, a work brought from Granada in 1665, and a carving of the Holy Christ of the True Cross, a 16th-century image thought to have possibly originated in Castile and recently donated to the church.