Semana Santa Estepa

Seville enchants

The St John Baptist Church must have been founded after the Christians conquered Marchena. It is likely linked to the presence of the Order of St John, first documented in the 13th century. Only the chapel under the tower remains from that original Church.

This Renaissance temple (1556-1588) has Gothic-Mudejar elements. It belonged to the former Encarnación School founded by Luis Cristobal Ponce de León (second Duke of Arcos) and his wife María de Toledo and run by the Jesuit fathers. Only Church and a beautiful cloister remain from the original building.

The Church is actually dedicated to St Peter Martyr. However, since it has traditionally belonged to the Dominican Order, it is commonly known as Santo Domingo. It was part of the Convent founded in 1517 by Rodrigo Ponce de León, Lord of Marchena and Duke of Arcos. The two side chapels were lost, and only the large central nave still exists. 

The Ducal Square was the Castle’s parade ground. For centuries, it was the town’s main square, near the palace, and home to the Town Hall. It used as a venue for festivals, “corral de comedias” (open-air comedy theatre) and, above all, bullfights. Nowadays, scenes from the Passion of Christ take place here on Good Friday, in what is locally known as the “Mandato”.

The present-day Santa Clara Church is what remains of the disappeared namesake temple; a monastery founded in 1498 by the sisters Juana and Elvira González de Lucenilla y de Benjumea and run by the Poor Clare sisters.

The original Mudejar portal of the Church from the early 16th century remains. The brick building has a Latin cross plan with a single nave covered by a half-barrel vault and lunettes. The temple was founded in 1537 by Gonzalo Jiménez Benjumea as the seat of several chaplaincies.

The monastery was founded in 1631 by Rodrigo Ponce de León, 4th Duke of Arcos. For seven years, the Convent was relocated in various outbuildings until the Lords of Marchena decided to place within the ducal estate.