Church of Saint Isidore, Romanesque church in Zamora, Spain

The Church of Saint Isidore stands on Plaza de San Isidoro inside Zamora's first walled enclosure, near the Portillo de la Lealtad. It has a single nave of three bays, a square-ended apse and a rectangular presbytery, with two plain round-arched portals framed by smooth jambs and a bust above one door, probably an angel. Rectangular buttresses reinforce the exterior, and the espadaña was added in 1801.

The church commemorates the passage of Saint Isidore's relics through Zamora in 1066, on their way from Seville to León, a transfer promoted by Sancha Raimúndez, sister of Alfonso VII, to whom the foundation is usually attributed. The building itself dates from around 1178, about a century after that event. Only the north wall survives from the early 12th century; the rest is 13th-century, the interior was later baroquised, and the espadaña was added in 1801.

Since 1688 the church has been the seat of the Cofradía del Carmen de San Isidoro, the brotherhood that still organises worship here. The building is dedicated to Isidore of Seville, whose relics passed through Zamora in 1066, and the foundation is attributed to Sancha Raimúndez, promoter of their transfer to León.

The church has two entrances: the north facade and the south facade, and the sources state that access to the temple is made through the south portal. It stands on Plaza de San Isidoro, near the Portillo de la Lealtad and the cathedral, in the highest part of the walled city. Information panels around the building explain it, and it is included in the city's tourist routes.

On the exterior walls, 117 mason's marks of 82 different types have been identified, simple designs of one to nine strokes, mostly straight lines. Their style points to a 12th-century building phase. Look for them on the ashlar blocks around the two portals.