Ermita de Nuestro Padre Jesús

The street that used to join together what was once called the ‘camino Real Alto’ with the ‘Bajo’ is known to everyone by its former name of ‘Cuesta de Jesus’ (Hill of Jesus). It gives this 18th century hermitage, which was initially called the Ermita del Santo Cristo de Nazaret (Hermitage of the Holy Christ of Nazareth), more identity.

Adjacent to what is now the Town Hall, were once just three houses that watched over this church. This enabled it to be admired by travellers on their journey along the Camino Real.

They viewed this as a robust building of red sandstone masonry. Anecdotally, it has been said that these may be pieces left over from the Parroquia de la Encarnación (Parish of the Incarnation).

At the same time, they saw its simple layout with solid buttresses, while nowadays we can exclusively see the façade formed by an arch and cymatium moulding on the roof, which completes that view of a distant past.

As we enter the rectangle that defines its interior, we can see two separate areas divided into a presbytery with a half barrel vault and a four-cornered space with a semicircular dome supported by four rounded arches. The pendentives, decorated with Baroque plasterwork, together with the oval-shaped crests with the symbols of the Passion of Christ embellish the oratory.

This oratory is home to two images of ‘Nuestro Padre Jesús’ (Jesus Our Father), one of them is a ‘candelero’ style wooden sculpture and another cast in plaster in the 1940s. We will also find the image of Jesus “Amarrado a la columna” (Tied to the column) and “Santo Entierro” (Holy Burial). “Resucitado” (Resurrected) and “Virgen del mayor dolor y consuelo” (Virgin of the greatest sorrow and consolation).