Type Conference Center
Use Hospital (1516-1816) Maternity and Foundling Home (1816-1961) Conference Center (1980-present)
Style Spanish Renaissance
Listing Asset of Cultural Interest World Heritage
Site Calle Torrijos, 10
Location Córdoba, Spain (Spain)
Coordinates 37°52'45?N 4°46'50?O
Construction 1512-1516
Owner Diputación de Córdoba
Design and construction Architect Hernán Ruiz I
It is currently home to the Palace of Congresses and Exhibitions and a tourist information office.1
It is part of the Historic Center of Cordoba, which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1994, while the building has been registered as an Asset of Cultural Interest since 2007.2
History
The building was constructed between 1512 and 1516 by the architect Hernán Ruiz I, at the request of the brotherhood of San Sebastián, which was under the tutelage of the Bishopric of Córdoba and wanted to build a new hospital for its institution. The site acquired belonged to an old ablutions room that served the Mosque, a space known at that time as "corral de Cárdenas". It was consolidated as the most important health center for centuries, until the construction of Cardinal Salazar's hospital in the early eighteenth century.
In 1816, the Casa de Expósitos de San Jacinto, which was located in the Hospital of the same name, was moved to this place in order to avoid the abandonment of children in the streets of the city. It was a big problem since, before the establishment of this foundling home, a corridor of the patio de los Naranjos de la Mezquita was already used for this purpose, one of the entrances being known as Póstigo de la Leche.1 In 1850 the building was acquired by the Diputación de Córdoba, although its activity as a foundling home and maternity hospital continued until 1961.3
In 1980, after being abandoned for almost 20 years, it was used as a Conference and Exhibition Center, an activity that continues to this day.3 In 1994 it was included in the designation of the Historic Center of Cordoba as a World Heritage Site, while on December 19, 2007 the building was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest.4
Restoration
A restoration and construction project began in 2013 to provide the Palacio de Congresos with accessible rooms and more capacity to host large congresses. The first phase of remodeling began in August 2013, whose works included an installation of a roof in the Blue courtyard and the expansion of the Assembly Hall to obtain a seating capacity of 800 people.5 This action cost 5.8 million euros and, after a series of delays, was completed in September 2018.6
In February 2014, after a three-month process, the Gothic façade giving access to the hospital, now the Palacio de Congresos, was restored after a budget of 63,000 euros.7
In February 2020 began the second phase of restoration, budgeted at 5.6 million euros, which focused on the Mudejar and Italian courtyard, as well as the Romero de Torres, Juan Bernier, Ramírez de Arellano, Ambrosio de Morales, Beatriz Enríquez and President rooms; and the offices, cafeteria, stores, checkroom, kitchen and storeroom. Once all the interventions are completed by the end of 2021, between the first and second phases, the number of places will have increased from 677 to 1786.8
Architecture
The main core of the building is the cloister of Mudejar architecture and the chapel in the Gothic-Flemish style, rich in Plateresque decoration and the work of Hernán Ruiz I, who also built the façade in 1514. Its walls are made of stone and brick columns with peralted arches on the first floor and lowered arches on the upper floor. It is organized around the courtyards.
The chapel of the old hospital has a rectangular floor plan and is divided between the oratory and the presbytery. The roof is made of Gothic ribbing and rests on a set of arches. The altarpiece was the work of Teodosio Sánchez de Rueda in 1725. The most relevant façade of the flamboyant gothic style exterior faces the interior of the church and houses a plateresque decoration, essentially vegetal and zoomorphic. In its tympanum are the religious figures of San Pablo, San Pedro and San Sebastián.
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