Church of Santiago

The Church of Santiago was built in the Romanesque-Mudejar style at the end of the 11th century or during the 12th century. Of all the town’s churches, it is the first documented, as it is mentioned in the Charter of 1140, as the council meetings were held in its portico.

Erected in honor of the patron saint of the Reconquista, it enjoys a privileged location next to the Santiago Pilgrims’ Hospital, founded in 1445 by Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, and the former hospital pharmacy, transformed into the Town Theater in 1842.

Built of brick, with a semi-circular barrel vault, it is topped by a round apse decorated on the inside with three rows of blind arches, covered with eight panels on the outside. The alternation of brick and stone, along with other architectural elements, reflects Muslim and Christian influences.

The massive square Clock Tower attached to the south side of the sanctuary remains intact, as does the apse area, built on a masonry plinth and decorated with Islamic-inspired trefoil arches on its north side.

A three-story brick bell gable was built on the north wall in the Baroque style.

The interior, built of stone and brick, consists of a semicircular main chapel with a straight presbytery section and a rectangular nave.

It was the burial place of illustrious figures such as Don Gutierre, the first lord of the town; the knight Antón Ledesma and his wife Leonor de Pas; as well as Isabel de Urbina, wife of Lope de Vega, and their daughter Antonia.

Declared a Site of Cultural Interest in 1996 in the Monument category.

It currently houses the Alba de Tormes Pottery Museum and the Tourist Information Point.