The church of La Candelaria in Zafra was built in 1527 on the initiative of Count III of Feria, as a replacement for the old church that stood in what is now Plaza Grande in Zafra.
It has a plan in the shape of a Latin cross and has a single nave, with chapels on both sides between the buttresses and a choir loft at the base. The church, with a short transept and octagonal apse, was built in 1609 as a collegiate church thanks to the religious zeal of the third Duke of Feria.
The main chapel has a magnificent altarpiece by the Sevillian artist Blas de Escobar with sculptures attributed to Juan de Arce, and is complemented by two side chapels.
The nave is spanned by star-shaped ribbed vaults, with architectural decoration limited to the coats of arms, putti and gargoyles on the capitals of the transepts. It is lit by four large windows similar to those in the transept and choir, and by an oculus in the choir area. The main doorway, whose current appearance dates back to 1700, faces west, and the Candelaria Church has two other side doors, located north and south of the nave.
The tower of the Candelaria Church in Zafra
It consists of two different parts. The lower part, which reaches the height of the roof of La Candelaria church, is made of masonry with ashlars in the corners. And the bell tower of La Candelaria church with two brick bodies and four similar faces. The completion of the tower of the church of La Candelaria in Zafra took a long time and was not completed until the 19th century.
Collegiate Church of La Candelaria in Zafra
The 2nd Duke of Feria petitioned Pope Paul V to elevate the church of La Candelaria de Zafra to the rank of collegiate church, but it was not until 1609, during the time of the 3rd Duke of Feria, that the Pope sealed the bull establishing the church of La Candelaria de Zafra as a collegiate church.
With the transformation into the Collegiate Church of La Candelaria, the church underwent a series of interior transformations. A new lower choir, sacristy, chapter house, new altars and the current main altarpiece were built. In addition, the already existing collegiate church of La Candelaria de Zafra was equipped with a series of works of art that enriched its interior.
The highlight of the Collegiate Church of La Candelaria de Zafra is the altarpiece of the Virgen de los Remedios, which frames nine paintings by the brilliant Francisco de Zurbarán from 1644. The chapel of the Virgin of La Valvanera, in Baroque style, financed by the Cameroonian merchants who settled in the city. The altarpiece of the Virgen del Carmen, a work by Blas de Escobar, or the fantastic collection of liturgical objects in the old sacristy of the church of La Candelaria.
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