Ruta de las once torres de Écija

Church of Santa Maria.

The tower of Santa María (52 meters high) is the one with the most bells. This tall and slender bell tower, reminiscent of the Giralda in Seville, can be seen from the Plaza de España itself, as it stands out in height from the rest of the buildings. On July 16, 1717, the foundations were blessed and the first stone was placed, which they removed from the Church of Santa Cruz. The tower was designed by Pedro de Silva, and he built it at the same time as the Seville Tobacco Factory, in which he also intervened. The Lisbon Earthquake of 1755 seriously damaged the second and third body of bells, so it had to be rebuilt later.

Church of Santiago.

According to documentary sources, the current tower, 50 meters high, is the third that the temple has counted. The first, in the Mudejar style, belonged to the old Hermitage of Santiago (1452), the second, from 1588, was damaged by the Lisbon earthquake of 1755. And finally the current tower, which was built between 1757 and 1766. On the west face of it there is a sundial or “hour stone”. According to legend, at the base of the tower is the burial of a Moor dating from the year 756, whose carved face stands out in relief between the bricks.

Church of La Victoria.

The tower, 35 meters high, was built between 1754 and 1757 by order of the friars José Santos and Pedro Díaz. It is made of carved brick, departing from the rest of the Ecijan baroque towers in terms of the rich decoration of the upper sections. After the demolition of part of the church that was attached to the tower, it was exempted. Of its four bays, only one is occupied by a turning bell.As a curiosity, it should be noted that this tower has exactly the same design as the tower of the Iglesia de la Victoria that is located in the nearby town of Estepa.

Church of San Gil.

This beautiful 55 meter high bell tower is located in the highest neighborhood of the city. The slender tower of San Gil deserves a stop along the way, since the distribution and proportion of its different bodies produce a sensation of perfect solidity and balance. In fact, different historians consider it a unique model among the baroque towers of the region.There is a legend that says that the old Alcázar de Écija was located below this church, specifically the rooms of the caliph who ruled the city. Theories that are becoming more and more truthful as the surprising findings of the archaeological excavations in Plaza de Armas are discovered.

Church of Santa Ana.

The current tower was built in the 18th century on an old bell tower built a century earlier, and this, in turn, on the old tower of the medieval wall called Puerta Real, which served as the entrance to Écija from Córdoba. It is 32 meters high and has four bays occupied by their corresponding turning bells. As a curiosity, it should be noted that during the restoration works of the tower in 1989, remains of the image of San Cristóbal appeared, from the disappeared monument of the year 1750, whose existence was known through different engravings of the city, and that keeps a lot of similarity to the Triumph of San Pablo that currently exists in the park of the same name.

Church of San Juan.

The tower of San Juan, with its 8 bells and 46 meters high, was completed in 1745. It was made by the masters Lucas Bazán and Antonio Corrales commissioned by the Marquis of Alcántara, with a typically Ecijan design and decoration. As a curiosity, the stone that serves as the base for the weather vane angel that crowns the tower, has an inscription of the second and third verses of the seventh chapter of the Apocalypse.

Church of San Pablo and Santo Domingo.

This tower, unfinished at the height of the first body, is only 28 meters high and was built in the year 1700. One of the sides is adorned with a large rosary in honor of the Chapel of the Rosary that is inside, which it is considered, together with the Church of the Barefoot, one of the greatest treasures of the Andalusian Baroque.The tower kept the bell that rang on the occasion of the miracle of Saint Paul, which occurred on February 20, 1436 in the person of Antón de Arjona, who, in an apparition, knotting his fingers, was entrusted with the task of warn local authorities of vices and sins that were committed against God. Since then, every year it is commemorated with a religious act and procession.

Main Church of Santa Cruz.

This tower, 42 meters high and in a Renaissance style, is the oldest in Écija and the only one with a rectangular plan. This is because its shaft belongs to theminaret of the mosque that existed in this same place. At the bottom there are two interesting inscriptions in Arabic, one from the year 930 of Caliph Abd-al-Rahman III, and another from 997 of his successor al-Hakam II, both refer to the construction of fountains. “The Emir of the believers, that Allab illustrate him, Abd-ar Rabman son of Muhammad, has ordered the construction of this fountain, in the hope of a beautiful reward from Allab (and a magnificent reward) and this work was finished with the help from Allab under the direction of his freedman and his governor Umaiya, son of Muhammad ibn Suhaid in the month of Al-Muharram in the year 318 (February 930). "

Church of the Virgin of Carmen.

The church was founded in the 15th century, but its tower, 45 meters high, was built in 1637. For its realization, carved brick was used that is hidden behind a double polychrome plaster. Perhaps the element that most characterizes this tower is found in the third body of the reed, since in the pilasters there are double niches with marble sculptures personifying figures of different saints. As in other bell towers in the city, the Lisbon earthquake of 1755 affected this tower a lot, so it had to be rebuilt later.

Las Gemelas Towers

The towers and portal are the only thing that remains of the old monastery of La Merced, built in 1684. Its current name is due to the fact that they are two totally symmetrical bell towers, 32 meters high and with three bodies in a pyramidal arrangement. Damages suffered by lightning that have fallen on them over the years are documented. The last took place on June 24, 2014, demolishing parts of the second and third body of the left tower, later rebuilt.

Other information

Tourist Routes

Cultural routes

Itineraries

Route of the towers of Écija

Difficulty Very low

Length: 5.09km
Duration: 2.12h
Access enabled

Ruta de las once torres de Écija

Écija

Calle Elvira, 1, A, 41400

Contact information

955 902 933

turismo@ecija.org

http://www.turismoecija.com/documentos/ruta_de_las_torres.pdf

Services and infrastructure

Accessible for handicapped
Tourist Office

Target audiences

Seniors, Lgbti, For families, young people, Friends, I travel alone, deal, Couples

Segments

Culture

Specialties

Tours of romantic Andalusia, Tours of baroque Andalusia, Routes of the Heritage of Al-Andalus, Tours of renaissance Andalusia, Route of popular architecture, Tours of ancient Andalusia.