SACROMONTE ABBEY MUSEUM
CLICK HERE for information about the Sacromonte Abbey
CLICK HERE for information about the Sacromonte area
Museum with the oldest map of Granada in the world, lead plates and catacombs
There are guided tours of the Sacromonte Abbey every day between 11am and 1pm and 4pm and 6pm. The guide only speaks Spanish.
The tour is an interesting way to spend an hour, even if you don't do the tour it is a pleasant walk with an excellent view of Granada and the Alhambra.
The tour starts off in the courtyard. The fountain in the centre surrounded by arches is typical of large public buildings built at this time
The museum contains paintings, artefracts and curiosities collected during the past four centuries. There is a map of Granada on a copper printing plate which aparently is the oldest in existence anywhere in the world. Photography is not allowed in the museum.
The museum includes many works of art and paintings including the “Dead Christ supported by an Angel" by Alonso Cano (see right), and also a collection of vestments, tapestries. Also on display are the lead plates. Twenty-five lead plates were found in total. They alleged that the Christian martyr St. Cecilio, who was executed during the reign of Nero in the 3rd century, was in fact of Arab rather than Spanish descent, and that after his conversion to Christianity, he had been executed with other Spanish Christians by the Romans.
Doubts were raised about the authenticity of these “books” and they were condemned by the Pope in 1682. However, the dispute continued in the 18th century as a result of the discoveries made in the Alcazaba of Granada. They were sent to Madrid and then Rome to be studied, and it was decided that they were not genuine and that they should be destroyed. It was not in the Church’s interests to say that the relics of the martyrs were not genuine, however, as at a time when faith in the Catholic doctrine was declining: by displaying them glass cases, large donations could be guaranteed.
After the museum there is a tour of the church and then the underground catacombs. The church is a popular place to get married. If you are looking for an interesting place to get married this could fit the bill.
The
view is impressive and there are often amazing sunsets.