Church of Vera Cruz, Valladolid, Catholic church in Platerías Street, Valladolid, Spain
The Church of Vera Cruz stands on Calle Platerías in Valladolid, built from 1667 with three naves separated by square pillars, a transept under a dome on a drum, and a flat apse. A grilled tribune runs above the naves, and the facade has two bodies like triumphal arches divided by a balcony for authorities.
The brotherhood obtained permission to build the church in 1581; Pedro de Mazuecos el Viejo designed it with one nave and a dome, keeping the arch that had stood at the end of the street since the 1561 fire. Diego de Praves worked on the facade in 1595, not completing the church. From 1667 Juan Texedor enlarged it to three naves, a transept with dome and a flat head. Part of the dome collapsed on 25 June 2024 and the church reopened on 16 March 2025.
The Cofradía Penitencial de la Santa Vera Cruz, Valladolid's oldest Holy Week brotherhood, keeps its processional floats here, including the Descendimiento by Gregorio Fernández and the sixteenth-century La Borriquilla, carried on Palm Sunday. The floats leave from this church during Holy Week.
The church stands on Calle Platerías, a busy shopping street in the city centre, with its façade set back behind the arch that closes the street. Part of the dome collapsed on 25 June 2024 during works; reconstruction lasted several months and the church reopened on 16 March 2025. Visitors enter from the street side, where the two-tiered façade and the authorities' balcony are visible from outside.
Inside the church is a silver and bronze cross-reliquary from the early 17th century that holds a fragment of the True Cross. This relic makes the place an important pilgrimage destination for faithful visitors.
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