Paris1972-Versailles2003

One of the nicest cities of my dear Spain, and one of my favorites. This is Alcalà de Henares in the Comunidad de Madrid, and in the kingdom of Spain. I have move pictures from other posts that should have a post of its own for their wonderful history ; this is one of them, Therefore, I like to tell you about the Hospital de Antezana of Alcalà de Henares !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I

First, it testifies to the early splendor of the company of Jesus founded by Ignatius of Loyola in the transit of the Renaissance to the Baroque, in that city that attracted the founder on his return from the Holy Land, As usual, the architectural model of the Gesu in Rome is omnipresent; a Latin cross plant with a large presbytery, a cupola on the transept and a side chapel connected to each other. For the façade, the Roman Church of San Giacomo deli Incurable   was taken as a reference. The temple is a symbol of the reformation and served as an example for successive  Jesuit Churches. The connection between Ignatius of Loyola and the Antezana Hospital is well established. Ignatius studied at the University of Alcalá de Henares between 1526 and 1527. He resided first in the old Santa María la Rica Hospital and later in the Antezana Hospital. The kitchen he used as a cook and the space of his room are still preserved; since the 17C, this area has been largely occupied by the dome of the chapel dedicated to him in the hospital church.

The building has a façade altered in 1904 in the Neo-Gothic style, featuring a prominent Mudéjar cornice. The church, clearly Baroque in style of the 17C and renovated in 1800, has a coffered dome and a barrel vault that covers the original Mudéjar coffered ceiling. Among the paintings in the chapel, a Saint John the Baptist and a Saint Joseph with the Child stand out. Two paintings depict Saint Ignatius dated 1658, and another from 1669, in what was the saint’s former room, now a chapel dedicated to him. Of the works of art located in the church, the carving of Our Lady of Mercy is particularly noteworthy, 17C. It is masterfully polychromed, to the point of having undergone virtually no retouching in the almost four centuries that have passed through it.

From its earliest constitutions, the Antezana Hospital had a clear vocation to provide free assistance to the most needy, both physically and spiritually. Throughout the 16C, this institution established strong ties with the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Alcalá, to the point of developing significant medical research and supporting university studies through student internships. They lived in the 15C in what was then the archiepiscopal town of Alcalá de Henares. Both belonged to the urban nobility of the time. Don Luis, a knight of the king, was a personal friend of Archbishop Carrillo de Acuña; Doña Isabel belonged to the illustrious Guzmán family. What is most important about them, and what has made them famous, is not what they did during their lives, but their wish to leave part of their wealth after their death to a foundation that would care for the most needy. In their will, dated in Alcalá de Henares on October 18, 1483, they donated a large part of their fortune to the creation of a hospice for the sick, under the patronage of Nuestra Señora de la Misericordia or Our Lady of Mercy. This hospice, a charitable hospital run by a brotherhood of knights, has survived for more than five centuries and is considered the oldest functioning hospital in Europe. Both are buried in the church of the former hospital. The Hospital de Antezana is located at Calle Mayor, 46 , next to the Museo Casa Natal de Cervantes (see post)

The official Fundacion Antezana : https://www.fundacionantezana.es/

The Alcalà de Henares tourist office on the Hospital de Antezana: https://www.turismoalcala.es/en/turismo/antezana-hospital/

The Calle Mayor as Alcalà de Henares leisure and cultural site on the Hospital de Antezana: https://lacallemayor.net/turismo/lugares-de-interes-alcala-de-henares/museos/hospital-de-antezana-o-de-nuestra-senora-de-la-misericordia/

There you go, a wonderful town to walk it all. Alcalà de Henares is to see a lot more, see my posts in my blog. Again, hope you enjoy the post on the Hospital de Antezana of Alcalà de Henares !!! as I.

 And remember, happy travels, good health ,and many cheers to all !!!