Sacra Capilla del Salvador

BIC-Monument. From the 16th century. The temple that was once a symbol and endowed the city with prestige and power, and that today is an emblem for the people of Úbeda along with Santa María and the Hospital de Santiago. The powerful secretary of Charles V, Francisco de los Cobos, spared no expense in creating this great work where he would rest at the end of his life, with the collaboration of eminent authors: Diego de Siloé with the initial designs in 1536, followed by Andrés de Vandelvira in the second phase of 1540. The master Berruguete was in charge of the high altar. The facade and the sacristy are sculpted by the Frenchmen Estefan Jamete and Francisco de Villalpando with the great work of ironwork. It is a building with a great spiritual symbolic load, starting with the floor plan, typical of mathematical humanism where the single nave (of the basilica) and the dome-headed apse (funerary symbol) are combined, being one of the few examples in Spain. It has a highly complex programmatic complexity, with interesting features such as the pagan gods on the intrados of the main door. Esteban Jamete uses iconography from the Old and New Testament as well as from the classical pagan world. Other examples would be the bucrania with garlands on the towers and the reliefs of the labors of Hercules. Also noteworthy is the original entrance to the sacristy, as a display of architectural composition by Vandelvira. El Salvador has a millimetric symmetry and proportion in its decoration and physiognomy, becoming an essential key for the enjoyment and study of the Spanish Renaissance.