In 2011 the Spanish classes took us on a trip to Osuna. The Name Osuna is from the Spanish name for Bear.... Oso. Centuries ago, there was a great forest around Osuna. Bears were common and it became famous as a place to hunt them. Hence, "Osuna"
The first place we visited was the Iglesia Universidad high up on the hill above Osuna. This was one of only three Universities in Andalucia at this time. Jaen, Seville and Osuna. This particular one was is copied from the iglesia of Carlos 15th in Granada.
The Iglesia de Universidad is built in three styles: Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque. It was part of a plan to counterattack the heretic reforms in the church caused by Henry VIII in England. Its purpose was to educate the people and teach them writing and reading so that they would know the truth and understand justice.
In 1548 Pope Paul III authorized the erection of a "Estudia General". He gave the instructions to build the University to Don Juan Tellez de Giron, the IV Conde (Duke) de Urena and the father of the first Duke of Osuna.
They were one of the richest families in Spain.
Iglesia de Universidad
The first place we visited was the Iglesia Universidad high up on the hill above Osuna. This was one of only three Universities in Andalucia at this time. Jaen, Seville and Osuna. This particular one was is copied from the iglesia of Carlos 15th in Granada.
The Iglesia de Universidad is built in three styles: Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque. It was part of a plan to counterattack the heretic reforms in the church caused by Henry VIII in England. Its purpose was to educate the people and teach them writing and reading so that they would know the truth and understand justice.
In 1548 Pope Paul III authorized the erection of a "Estudia General". He gave the instructions to build the University to Don Juan Tellez de Giron, the IV Conde (Duke) de Urena and the father of the first Duke of Osuna.
We moved on a little way to the Museo de Arte Sacro. This is a church as well as a museum, and a very imposing one. We met our guide, who told us some of the history of the church.
Built in the 16th century in the renaissance style, it is the home to a magnificent collection of paintings by José Ribera, El Españoleto, and the Cristo de Misericordia by Juan de Mesa.
Museo de Arte Sacro
The guide took us to a corner of the church which was closed by an ancient iron grille secured by a modern padlock. When we had all been ushered into the enclosure, she locked the grille behind us. I looked around and spotted a security camera high in a corner pointed at the grille. I also noticed an alarm system on a wall by the grille. Clearly we had entered a place of high security. What she showed us next justified the security.
The coat of arms of the Duke of Osuna
The third place we visited was the Cilla de Cabilado Cabal, which was the Parish house for the Cathedral of Sevilla. Strangely, the building was commissioned to be built in 1773 as granary to store the tithes which the church receives. But the architect, Juan Ruiz de Florindo and, his son, Alonso Ruiz de Florindo created a façade which became the most spectacular piece of baroque architecture in Andalucia.
Father and son were working around Seville during the middle of the eighteenth century at a time when there was abundant money and intense construction in the area. If the father and son wanted to impress, then they certainly achieved their aim.
Cilla de Cabilado Cabal
The fourth place we visited was the Palacio Del Marques de la Gomera. (above)
This building was built by architect Juan Antonio Blanco between 1764 and 1765. It is described as the most representative example of Baroque architecture in Osuna. Does this sound familiar?
Eight years after the Palacio Del Marques de la Gomera is built with its Baroque façade Juan Ruiz and his son build their Cilla de Cabilado Cabal, Which is far more impressive than the Palacio.
I think that either the father and son were out to beat Juan Antonio Blanco by building a façade which was an order of magnitude better than his, or the client of the father and son was out to beat the client of Juan Antonio Blanco.
Either way, we are all left with the legacy of two superb pieces of architecture.
Built in the 16th century in the renaissance style, it is the home to a magnificent collection of paintings by José Ribera, El Españoleto, and the Cristo de Misericordia by Juan de Mesa.
Museo de Arte Sacro
The guide took us to a corner of the church which was closed by an ancient iron grille secured by a modern padlock. When we had all been ushered into the enclosure, she locked the grille behind us. I looked around and spotted a security camera high in a corner pointed at the grille. I also noticed an alarm system on a wall by the grille. Clearly we had entered a place of high security. What she showed us next justified the security.
We were lead through a small door by the side of an imposing gold coat of arms with a figure of the virgin in the center. If you examine the photo, high up at the top of the alter are two rampant bears. This is the coat of arms of the Duke of Osuna. If I remember rightly this was the personal alter for the Duke and his family.
Many of us reached for our cameras at this point, but our guide became very stern and forbade us to take photos. The photos that you see here were taken when she wasn’t looking. She was also very strict about silence when she was talking. The Spanish will chatter on amongst themselves, which, in a small space, can be distracting. She silenced everybody with a loud command that left you in no doubt about the protocols of the tour.
She led us into a small room no bigger than a garage where she opened an old, but beautiful, wooden cabinet with 6 doors. Behind each door were three or four religious works of art in solid gold.
Lights inside the cupboard illuminated beautiful crosses, figures, or carefully worked icons of the most amazing detail, all glowing brightly behind the glass of the cabinets. One, a cross about a foot wide, with radial rays, the guide explained, was one of the finest examples of gold workmanship in Europe.
She told us that the cross was stolen recently from the church and the thieves were to take it to Russia where a collector of religious artifacts was willing to pay a fortune for it. The thieves panicked trying to cross the border into France and buried the cross in a farmyard under rubbish. It was discovered by the farmer and returned to the University. I seem to remember there were three rooms full of intricately crafted golden religious works.
Her dialogue continued. One of the later Dukes of Osuna was Ambassador to Russia for Spain. He was a lavish entertainer and in an attempt to impress the Russians he gave banquets where the plates were beaten from solid gold. Rather than wash the pates afterwards he had the servants throw them away.
His family was one of the richest in Spain before he became Ambassador.
When he died he had debts of tens of thousands of pesatas, but I think that after his death some of his servants retired as very rich waiters or cooks.
We were led through rooms hung with the most beautiful paintings of religious scenes. They were in semi darkness to preserve the pigments, so any photographs were very poor, even if you could get a friend to stand in between the camera and the guide.
Our guide ushered us through a very elaborate doorway, which lead down into the crypt. The doorway had a very scary motif above the lintel, the sight of which made my blood run cold.
It is still the family crypt of the Dukes of Osuna and somewhere near where we stood were the bodies of the family of the Dukes. This was a very eerie place and several of our group felt uneasy. Deep within the crypt is a tiny chapel shown in the photo, which on the day, workmen were restoring.
Just down the steps from the Museo de Arte Sacro across the plaza was our second stop The Monesterio de la Encarnation. This was originally a hospital built in 1549 called Encarnación del Hijo de Dios. (Embodiment of the Son of God.) In 1612 the Jesuits took over the hospital and in 1626 the Duchess of Osuna changed the hospital into a monastery to govern the religious teaching for the Royal Military Order of Mercy.
We had to wait until the nuns who ran the convent had finished the previous tour before we could enter, but they offered us samples of the biscuits they make and sell in the shop. The tour was well worth the wait. The interior of the church is breath-taking. The golden alter and its ceiling, were the product of thousands of hours of work by the most gifted craftsmen of the time. On each side of the church were alcoves of the most elaborate, beautiful, statues of the Virgin and Christ.
But the tour continued into the quadrangle alongside the church, where the four seasons of the year were depicted in hand painted tiles along the inside of the cloister. The arches in the quadrangle were covered in the most detailed carvings. The photos I have do not do justice to the colors and artwork of the tiles. Trust me; they were very impressive close up. We were shown many more artifacts of religious art in many of the small rooms off the quadrangle and I recall that one room was full of candles burning with the prayers of loved ones. This was not a church of relics from the past. It was alive with the hopes of modern people.
Father and son were working around Seville during the middle of the eighteenth century at a time when there was abundant money and intense construction in the area. If the father and son wanted to impress, then they certainly achieved their aim.
The fourth place we visited was the Palacio Del Marques de la Gomera. (above)
This building was built by architect Juan Antonio Blanco between 1764 and 1765. It is described as the most representative example of Baroque architecture in Osuna. Does this sound familiar?
Eight years after the Palacio Del Marques de la Gomera is built with its Baroque façade Juan Ruiz and his son build their Cilla de Cabilado Cabal, Which is far more impressive than the Palacio.
I think that either the father and son were out to beat Juan Antonio Blanco by building a façade which was an order of magnitude better than his, or the client of the father and son was out to beat the client of Juan Antonio Blanco.
Either way, we are all left with the legacy of two superb pieces of architecture.
At the end of the tour we waited for the bus to take us back to Olvera in a local park, Parque San Arcadia. We had coffee across the road and a chat about the days events and I had someone take this photo of our group of English classmates.
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