The Shrine to Our Lady of Solitude is located in the north edge of the town towards El Pedroso. There used to be on this same place another Shrine to San Sebastian, where Our Lady of Solitude was venerated as early as the sixteenth century., The compound was ultimately given her name owing to the great devotion of the people. One of the walls in the Sacristy may be from the former building.
In the late 18th century, the old temple was extended. The new temple would be one of the first built in the province of Seville in the neoclassical style. It was completed in 1792 without the altarpieces. In 1848, the cemetery was moved to the back of the temple.
The neo-classical building has a Latin cross plan. It consists of a single, spacious nave topped by a beautiful plasterwork dome on pendentives with bas-reliefs of the four Evangelists and verses from the Stabat Mater. The baroque high altarpiece, which is a small chapel above the altar, is considered the only of its kind in Andalusia, where the neoclassical-style was favoured. This small chapel, known as “camarín”, is covered with a groin vault. In the centre of the vault is an image of the Holy Spirit as a dove. Our Lady of Solitude, the patron saint of Cantillana, is located in this high altarpiece. The outstanding piece is the pedestal of the Virgin Mary, a beautiful 18th-century, neoclassical statue of considerable height. At the foot of the Virgin is the sculpture of the Holy Reclining Christ, a Mannerist work by Juan de Santamaría from 1583, as specified in the original contract, which still exists today.
This altarpiece also contains the images of Saint Rita and Saint Sebastian, patron saint of Cantillana. The two front altarpieces with the images of San Juan and La Magdalena, located on the left and right sides of the transept respectively, are remarkable.
The Holy Christ of the Agony, a remarkable image made of paste, and considered the oldest Christ in Cantillana, is worshipped in the left transept. It was brought here together with the altarpiece from the former Convent of Saint Francis. The altarpiece was destroyed during the renovation works in 1969-1973.
Two large ceramic panels were placed on both sides of the temple’s entrance to commemorate the designation of Our Lady of Solitude as the Perpetual Mayor of Cantillana. These panels list the many titles given to the Virgin Mary. At the foot of the temple, on the left, is the house of the “Santera”, the housekeeper.
This Shrine did not suffer damages during the war, and nothing was taken from it to renovate the parish church.
Opening times
Winter: 9:00 to 13:00; 16:00 to 21:00
Summer: 9:00 to 13:00; 18:00 to 22:00
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