Church of Santa Ana

As usual, Christian churches were built on lots that were previously occupied by mosques, as evidence of the triumph of Christianity over Islam.

The church of Santa Ana got up on the site of Al-jama Almanzora in 1537, with the design of Diego Siloe. It is located next to Darro river, in the renown Plaza Nueva.

The facade is by Sebastian de Alcantara in 1542 and the sculptures composing it are of Diego de Aranda.

The access door is composed of a rounded arch flanked by two Corinthian columns with striated shaft on a high plinth. In the spandrels, the crests of the archbishop Niño de Guevara are placed. The second body is resting on the entablature, and consists of three niches sheltering the rock-cut images of Santa Ana in the middle and Maria Jacobi and Maria Salome on both sides. On these niches we can find a roundel with images of the Virgin Mary with Child Jesus in her arms.

The tower is located on one side of the façade and was built in ancient building of the mosque minaret. It features semicircular holes framed by alfices that have spandrels decorated with tiles from Seville.

This is a single nave with side chapels and a Major Chapel. The ceiling is made of Mudejar coffering, the one in the Chapel done with "Armadura de Lazo”.

Among the images that are worshiped in this temple, the Dolorosa by Jose de Mora is surely worth of mention, enhanced in 1671. Also, a Calvary of Diego de Aranda and a Crucifix attributed to Juan de Mena. Paintings decorating the chapels are works from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.