Convento de Santa Isabel

The Convent of Santa Isabel was founded in 1490 by Doña Isabel de León. With the confiscation in 1835 the convent was expropriated and became a women's prison and a reformatory. In 1869 the Order of the Philippians Daughters of Maria Dolorosa was established, and a school for children and a spiritual home for women in trouble was established in the convent. They even welcomed prostitutes seeking help.

The church was built in 1602 in the mannerist style by Alonso de Vandelvira. The front, framed by Corinthian columns, is facing the square. From this square you can admire the decorated belfry. Inside, the church's floor plan is that of a typical nave of convent churches, covered with a barrel vault with lunettes. The main altarpiece is made up of three levels, all of them with decorated columns. The first level depicts the statues of Santa Isabel, and on the other two levels there are no images, just paintings.

On the sides of the Convent of Santa Isabel there are other smaller, richly decorated altarpieces with statues of saints and Jesuit scenes. The altarpiece of crucified Christ of Mercy, by Juan de Mesa (17th century), which has many followers, stands out. You get to the common area through a side door that leads to an old courtyard with three arcades. The main cloister is resting on pillars and arches, and has a white marble fountain. Nowadays the convent is also a school, and every day the nuns donate sandwiches to people in need who come to the doors of the convent.