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Shrine of Nuestra Señora de la Caridad

Illescas, La Sagra, Toledo

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Shrine of Nuestra Señora de la Caridad

Monument · Illescas, La Sagra, Toledo

The sanctuary of Nuestra Señora de la Caridad, next to the former Hospital de la Caridad, was built between the 16th and 17th centuries: from 1500 at the initiative of Cardinal Cisneros, who had it built in exchange for permission to set up a convent of Franciscan nuns in Illescas. The original building followed plans by Pedro de Gumiel and was remodelled between 1588 and 1600 by Nicolás de Vergara and his brother Juan. In 1603 El Greco painted the main altarpiece and five paintings of the life of the Virgin for this church, four of which are kept here (one is in the National Museum of Art of Romania, in Bucharest), along with a San Ildefonso. Philip II was devoted to the Virgen de la Caridad, patroness of Illescas, canonically crowned in 1955; the sanctuary remains one of the great centres of devotion in La Sagra.

Photo: Emilio García (CC BY-SA 2.0)

What to see and do in Illescas