The Church of El Salvador has recently been renovated and is one of the most beautiful churches in Seville. It is a Baroque church built in the 17th century and has several chapels done in gold. It has many religious sculptures by famous sculptors of the past. This is one of the finest Baroque churches in Andalusia.
The church was built on top of the Mezquita of Adabbas after the Mezquita was demolished in 1671. The church construction took place between 1674 and 1679. When the church was almost finished, the church fell down on Oct. 24, 1679, leaving only the exterior walls standing. A lot of analysis was done to try to figure out why the church fell down. One of the theories was that the base on top of the old Mezquita was not solid enough. Rebuilding was restarted, with care to make the church stronger. This was finished in 1712. The architect was Leonardo de Figueroa.
The form of the church is the Latin cross, with three naves. the vaults are of the barrel and cross types. There is a big cupola on the ceiling. The main retable and that of the Sacramental Chapel were done by Cayetano de Acosta. Among famous sculptures are the Jesus of the Passion, by Martinez Montañes, and the Christ of Love, by Juan de Mena. The minaret of the old mosque is part of the church. The statue of the Virgen de las Aguas is one of the oldest in Seville. There are many important paintings in the church also.
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