San Lorenzo is a church in Córdoba, Andalusia, southern

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Situated in the historic centre, it was one of the twelve religious buildings commissioned by king

Ferdinand III of Castile Ferdinand III (; 1199/120130 May 1252), called the Saint (''el Santo''), was King of Castile from 1217 and King of León from 1230 as well as King of Galicia from 1231. He was the son of Alfonso IX of León and Berengaria of Castile. Through his ...

in the city after its conquest in the early 13th century. The church occupies the site of a pre-existing Islamic mosque, which in turn had been built above a

Visigothic The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied barbarian military group united under the comman ...

church. It was built between around 1244 and 1300, in a transitional style between Romanesque and

Gothic architecture Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High Middle Ages, High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved f ...

. It has the typical structure of Andalusian churches of the period, featuring a rectangular plan with a nave and two aisles, without transept and an apse. It has a portico with three slightly ogival arcades, added in the 16th century. The Islamic minaret was converted into a Renaissance bell tower by

Hernán Ruiz the Younger Hernán Ruiz the Younger (sometimes spelled Hernán Ruiz II; c. 1514 – 21 April 1569) was a Spanish Renaissance architect, active mostly in Andalusia. He was born in Córdoba or Burgos, the son of Hernán Ruiz the Elder, also an architect. His ...

. Above the portico is the large Gothic-

Mudéjar Mudéjar were Muslims who remained in Iberia in the late medieval period following the Christian reconquest. It is also a term for Mudéjar art, which was greatly influenced by Islamic art, but produced typically by Christian craftsmen for C ...

rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' wa ...

. The nave has a

coffer A coffer (or coffering) in architecture is a series of sunken panels in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault. A series of these sunken panels was often used as decoration for a ceiling or a vault, al ...

ed ceiling in Mudéjar-Renaissance style. The apse has 14th century paintings inspired by the

Italian Gothic Italian Gothic architecture (also called temperate Gothic architecture), has characteristics that distinguish it considerably from those of the place of origin of Gothic architecture, France, and from other European countries in which this langua ...

school, depicting ''Scenes of the Life of Jesus''. There are also figures of saints and prophets with gilt halos, and a decoration imitating Byzantine

azulejo (, ; from the Arabic ) is a form of Portuguese and Spanish painted Tin-glazing, tin-glazed ceramic tilework. ''Azulejos'' are found on the interior and exterior of church (building), churches, palaces, ordinary houses, schools, and nowadays, r ...

s. the high altar (17th century) has scenes of the life of St. Lawrence.

External links

Page at Cordobapedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:San Lorenzo, Cordoba

Lorenzo Lorenzo may refer to: People * Lorenzo (name) Places Peru * San Lorenzo Island (Peru), sometimes referred to as the island of Lorenzo United States * Lorenzo, Illinois * Lorenzo, Texas * San Lorenzo, California, formerly Lorenzo * Lorenzo State ...

13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Spain Romanesque architecture in Andalusia Gothic architecture in Andalusia Historic centre of Córdoba, Spain Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Province of Córdoba (Spain)