Description of the attraction
The history of the hospital De los Venerables, located in the capital of Andalusia - Seville, began in the 17th century. It was then that the religious Brotherhood of Silence founded a house for the sick and elderly ministers of the church, which was later rebuilt into a hospital. The hospital occupied a building located today in the Santa Cruz area, in the Plaza de los Venerables, built in the 17th century in the Baroque style by the architects Juan Dominguez and the famous Leonardo de Figueroa.
In 1689, a church dedicated to Saint Fernando was added to the building. The church has one nave, the central altar is decorated with paintings by artists Valdes Leal and his son Lucas Valdes. The ceiling and walls of the church are also painted by Lucas Valdez. Near the altar are the relief figures of Saint Juan Batista and Saint Juan Evangelista by Martinez Montanes.
Another feature of the hospital building is its beautiful, typically Andalusian courtyard, planted with green trees and surrounded by a two-story gallery.
By 1805, the hospital had fallen into disrepair, and the fraternity had practically no funds to support it. In 1840, an attempt was made to take away the building belonging to the fraternity in order to house a textile factory, but after numerous complaints in 1848, by order of the king, the hospital was returned to its owners.
Since 1991, the building of the De los Venerables hospital has been the seat of the Seville Cultural Foundation, which from 1987 to 1991 carried out repairs and restoration of the hospital premises. Today, exhibitions, concerts, conferences and art workshops are often held here.
