The Church and The Hospital of San Juan de Dios

This hospital and its church were founded in 1637 by Juan de Herrera, and dedicated to Saint Onufris. In 1696, the church was demolished, and a new one was commissioned by the architect Francisco Hurtado Izquierdo, who completed it in 1717. The vaulted roof over the single nave leads up to a “half orange” shaped dome with radial supports, a precursor of the segmented cupolas so typical of the town’s baroque style.
The church as we see it today is the result of two phases of rebuilding in the eighteenth century. The first was carried out by Jerónimo Sánchez de Rueda, which retained the main structure of the church and its cupola. The second, which began in 1764, was the work of Francisco Javier Pedrajas; he introduced the cornice and the vaulted ceiling, and made changes to the windows, with plasterwork embellishment. The facade dates from the same era: it is unfinished, but is believed to the the work of Juan de Dios Santaella.
The altarpiece, by Francisco José Guerrero in 1768, is of rococo design in the form of a single body divided by four columns. The central alcove houses a modern carving of Our Lady of Grace, and on either side, the baroque figures of Saint Joseph and Saint John, framed by tapestries. On the topmost level, there are paintings of the Crucifixion, flanked by images of Saint Carlos Borromeo and Saint Nicholas.