The Palacio de la Merced is a historical building in Córdoba, Andalusia, southern

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. Once home to the convent of La Merced Calzada, it is now home to the Provincial Government of Córdoba (Diputación de Córdoba, in Spanish), a sovra-municipal services institution of the province of Córdoba.

History

Excavations in the site have revealed the presence of

ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

s. Later findings include medieval remains of a

baptistery In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned structure surrounding the baptismal ...

and of a

crypt A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...

, identified with the Palaeo-Christian or Visigothic basilica of St. Eulalia, assigned by some scholars to the reign of king

Reccared I Reccared I (or Recared; la, Flavius Reccaredus; es, Flavio Recaredo; 559 – December 601; reigned 586–601) was Visigothic King of Hispania and Septimania. His reign marked a climactic shift in history, with the king's renunciation of Arianis ...

. The foundation of the palace is traditionally connected to

Peter Nolasco Peter Nolasco (1189 – 6 May 1256), ''Pere Nolasc'' in Catalan, ''Pierre Nolasque'' in French and ''Pedro Nolasco'' in Spanish, is a Catholic saint, born at Mas-des-Saintes-Puelles, Languedoc, today's France, although some historians claim he ...

, whom king Ferdinand III of Castile had donated the Basilica of St. Eulalia after the conquest of the city in the early 13th century. There are few traces of the 13th convent, however. The current edifice dates to the 18th century, the church dating to 1716-1745. The later has a

Latin cross A Latin cross or ''crux immissa'' is a type of cross in which the vertical beam sticks above the crossbeam, with the three upper arms either equally long or with the vertical topmost arm shorter than the two horizontal arms, and always with a mu ...

plan, with a nave, two aisles and a

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

. The cloister, with a rectangular plan and round arches, was finished in 1752. Some renovations occurred in 1850, when it became a hospital, and 1960, when it became the seat of the Provincial Deputy. In 1978 the church suffered a fire that destroyed the high altar and other artworks.

External links

Page at Cordobapedia
{{Coord, 37.8904, -4.7801, type:landmark_region:ES, display=title Buildings and structures in Córdoba, Spain Baroque architecture in Andalusia Religious buildings and structures completed in 1745 Palaces in Andalusia Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Province of Córdoba (Spain)