Renaissance Murcia Art Route

One of the outstanding examples of Murcian Renaissance architecture is the San Patricio Collegiate church in Lorca, conceived at first as a cathedral in 1533. Its dedication is related to San Patricio being the saint of the day when Lorcan troops defeated the Islamic armies at the crucial battle of Los Alporchones. Although the church was not concluded until the XVIII century, in an early baroque style, its plan and works belong to Jeronimo Quijano. The great forerunner of the Renaissance period in Murcia.

Another two beautiful examples of Renaissance art seems to emerge dominating the sea of tiles and adobe of the old quarters of Caravaca and Jumilla. In the former the Church of El Salvador built between 1534 and 1600 over an old Templar hospital, shows a solid square plan supported by four colossal Ionic columns with veins. The Church built by Pedro de Antequera, was never finished. At the first level of the tower is the sacristy, a characteristic feature of religious buildings of Murcian Renaissance.

The town of Jumilla proudly exhibits its Iglesia de Santiago a real catalogue of architectural styles. The central nave in Gothic style, is accompanied by the beautiful Renaissance front by Valdenvira, and by the main altarpiece from the XVI century. The church and convent of Sant Esteban, in the city of Murcia is the present headquarters of the Government of Murcia. It was built between 1557 and 1570 as the first Jesuit college in Spain, following the orders of Bishop Esteban de Almeida.

A remarkable part of the palace is its cloister, and of the church its cross ribs vaults and the side chapels, embedded in the buttresses. The church is nowadays used as an exhibition hall, after being de consecrated.

Other important churches of the XVI century arte those of la Asunción in Moratalla, which keeps the gothic covers of an older building; la Magdalena in Cehegin has a herrerian vault, and la Soledad in Caravaca is now the Municipal Archaeological Museum.

Also preserved from this period are some examples of Mudejar decoration, in particular those found in the wooden paneling of the churches of Algezares, San Onofre, San Andrés, Santiago, la Concepción and la Purísima. Though the best example of all is that of just a little hermitage on the south side of the Sierra Espuña mountain range: la Santa of Totana.

La Santa is a group of buildins dyed in terra cotta colours of which the most remarkable is this small temple, erected in the XVII century. It is decorated with a very interesting type of paneling and with mural paintings dating from 1623, which show scenes of daily life in the Franciscan Order. Along the coast, there is at this time a continous flow of raids of Berber pirates, wich makes King Philip II reinforce the surveillance system and build new fortifications. Numerous watchtowers appear, of which we still keep in a good state those at Cabo Cope, La azohia, Ramé, Negró and Bolnuevo.

ANOTHER ROUTES IN MURCIA: