Antiguo Hospital de Venerables Sacerdotes, Baroque hospital building in Santa Cruz district, Seville, Spain.
The Antiguo Hospital de Venerables Sacerdotes is a baroque structure arranged around a central courtyard with arcades and a brick fountain. The complex includes a chapel with artworks and various rooms that retain the original function of housing elderly clergy.
The building was founded in 1675 by a church official as a shelter for aging priests in need. Financial troubles in the early 1800s forced a change in its purpose, though the structure itself has survived to today.
The name reflects its purpose of caring for elderly priests, which appears in how the spaces were designed and decorated. The chapel inside shows how religious life unfolded here, with works by local artists that made the faith of the community visible.
You can reach the complex easily from Plaza de Santa Cruz and view the rooms in roughly an hour. The baroque courtyards are welcoming and walkable, though taking a guided tour helps you understand the artistic details scattered throughout.
The chapel holds an unusual altar arrangement made from four paintings rather than traditional carved wooden pieces. This distinctive approach to altar design surprises many visitors who expect the more common format of its era.
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