Santa María Magdalena is a

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

church in

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

, 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 ...

. It was built in 1691-1709 to a design of architect

Leonardo de Figueroa Leonardo de Figueroa (c. 1650, Utiel – 1730, Seville) was a Spanish architect active in Seville. Works In Seville. *Designed the Santa María Magdalena, Seville, Santa María Magdalena church (1691-1706). *Hospital de la Caridad ("Charity Hos ...

. It is the seat of various ''hermandades'' (

confraternities A confraternity ( es, cofradía; pt, confraria) is generally a Christians, Christian voluntary association of laity, laypeople created for the purpose of promoting special works of Christian charity or piety, and approved by the Christian Churc ...

which participate in the religious processions for which Seville is famous).

History

The church was built to serve a Dominican monastery, and replaced a medieval building dating from after the Christian conquest of the city in 1248. The monastery was closed in the 19th century, and Santa María Magdalena became a parish church.

Architecture

The façade has three portals, one featuring a sculpture of "St. Dominic" by

Pedro Roldán Pedro Roldán (1624–1699) was a Baroque sculptor from Seville, Andalusia, Spain. His daughter Luisa Roldán, known as ''La Roldana'', was also a major figure of Spanish Baroque sculpture. Life Pedro Roldán was born in Seville in 1624, w ...

. Above the portals are an

oculus Oculus (a term from Latin ''oculus'', meaning 'eye'), may refer to the following Architecture * Oculus (architecture), a circular opening in the centre of a dome or in a wall Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Oculus'' (film), a 2013 American ...

, sided by two blue spheres symbolizing the mystery of the rosary, and a

bell-gable The bell gable ( es, espadaña, french: clocher-mur, it, campanile a vela) is an architectural element crowning the upper end of the wall of church buildings, usually in lieu of a church tower. It consists of a gable end in stone, with small ho ...

(1697). All the exterior of the church is characterized by a large use of blue and red decorative motifs. The interior has a nave and two aisles, a transept and five chapels, including the only one remaining from the previous edifice, that of the ''Hermandad de la Quinta Angustia'' (Brotherhood of the Fifth Anguish) and a presbytery. The nave is surmounted by an octagonal dome, whose exterior is decorated with fugres resembling

Inca The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...

Indians. The interior of the church has a rich Baroque decoration with stuccoes and gold patina. The Chapel of the Dulce Nombre de Jesús has another work by Roldán and a ''Christ Reborn'' by Jerónimo Hernández. The high altar is in Baroque style (18th century), with sculptures by

Pedro Duque y Cornejo Pedro Duque y Cornejo (1677–1757) was a Spanish Baroque painter and sculptor of the Sevillian school of sculpture, a disciple of his grandfather Pedro Roldán. He was born in Seville and worked mostly in his home city (church of the Sagrario, ...

and Francisco de Ocampo, while the

retable A retable is a structure or element placed either on or immediately behind and above the altar or communion table of a church. At the minimum it may be a simple shelf for candles behind an altar, but it can also be a large and elaborate structur ...

of the ''Assumption'' was executed by

Juan de Mesa Juan de Mesa y Velasco (1583–1627) was a Spanish Baroque sculptor. He was the creator of several of the effigies that are used in the procession during the Holy Week in Seville. Biography De Mesa was born in Córdoba and baptized on 26 June ...

. Other artworks include frescoes by Lucas Valdés and two canvasses by Francisco de Zurbarán

External links

Page at TripAdvisor website

interiors and details pictures of La Magdalena church in Seville
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Maria Magdalena, Seville Maria Magdalena Baroque architecture in Seville Roman Catholic churches completed in 1709 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Spain Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Province of Seville