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The College of San Ildefonso in Alcalá de Henares was built on the initiative of Cardinal Cisneros in 1499. It was the seed of the oldest University in Spain, and the first university city in the world.
Today it is the seat of the Rectorate of the University and has been declared a World Heritage Site along with the Historical Precinct of Alcalá de Henares (1998).
It is the most emblematic building in Alcalá, as it is one of the most outstanding constructions of the Spanish Renaissance. Its construction followed the design of Pedro Gumiel.
Its façade (1537 – 1553) is the most remarkable work of Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón. It is structured in three modules of uneven height, topped with a gallery of windows with semicircular arches and crowned with balustraded cresting and pinnacles. The monumental retable portal in the centre, with a semicircular arch framed by paired columns, stands out. The second body of the portal houses the coats of arms of Cardinal Cisneros on both sides. Meanwhile, in the third, there is the imperial coat of arms of the double-headed eagle with the figures of Minerva on each side. This is topped with a pediment housing the Eternal Father, festooned with human figures and fruit garlands.
Inside there is a large central courtyard, called Santo Tomás de Villanueva (17th century). The project was initiated by Juan Gómez de Mora and completed by José Sopeña. Its name is due to one of the most advanced buildings of the University and the first saint who came from it. It has three galleries with arches. The first and second arcades are semicircular, while the upper one has lowered arches. All are framed with ornamental classical columns.
Other notable spaces include the Auditorium with its beautiful Cisneros-style ceiling (where the Cervantes Prizes are awarded each year), the Philosophers' Courtyard, and the Trilingual Courtyard (built by Pedro de la Cotera in the second half of the 16th century and belonging to the College of San Jerónimo). The name of the latter is due to having hosted students of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew.
Special mention also deserves the Chapel of San Ildefonso, which was the college church. Its construction was completed in 1510 and is the burial place of Francisco Vallés de Covarrubias and Elio Antonio de Nebrija. The funerary monument of Cardinal Cisneros (who was eventually buried in the Magistral Cathedral) is the work of Domenico Fancelli and Bartolomé Ordóñez (authors of the cenotaphs of the Catholic Monarchs and Don Felipe and Doña Juana de Castilla in the Royal Chapel of Granada, successively).
With the Mendizábal Disentailment, the University of Alcalá was relocated to the Central University of Madrid (1836), leaving the building abandoned. Later, it passed successively to several owners. But in 1851, the Company of Co-owners of the University Buildings was constituted to preserve the artistic heritage. This ensured the recovery of its public and educational function, hosting institutions such as the Complutense Institute of Secondary Education, the Centre for Training and Improvement of Civil Servants, and the National Institute of Public Administration.
Built: 1499.
Author: Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón, Pedro Gumiel
Style: Cisneros Style, Plateresque
Category: Civil
Type: University
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The Cathedral of Saints Justo and Pastor in Alcalá de Henares, along with the church of Saint Peter in Leuven (Belgium), is the only temple that receives the title of Collegiate Church, meaning all its canons had to be doctors in theology.
It was built in 1514 in the Elizabethan Gothic style and declared a National Monument (1904).
According to legend, during Diocletian's great persecution of Christians (284-305 AD), the martyrdom of Saints Justo and Pastor occurred. Both were only nine years old when they were executed (304 AD) outside Complutum for refusing to renounce Christianity. At the same spot where they were executed, a chapel was built for their remains (414 AD) and became a cathedral in Visigothic times.
After various historical vicissitudes of Castilian Middle Ages (Muslim destruction in 1054, reconstruction after Christian reconquest in 1122), Archbishop Carrillo (1446-1482) rebuilt the church and elevated it to the rank of collegiate church. In the time of Cardinal Cisneros (1495-1517), it received the title of “Magistral,” and the current building was constructed.
During the Spanish Civil War, the church was set on fire and its treasures lost. A few chairs and railings were saved from the old choir. It was in 1991 that the diocese of Alcalá was restored and elevated to a cathedral-collegiate.
The building presents a simple and austere exterior image. The Renaissance tower topped with a slate spire in the purest Herrerian style, the work of Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón and Rodrigo Argüello, stands out. Its walls are covered with Segovian sgraffito. The west façade's portal belongs to Florid Gothic, with Saint Ildefonso represented in the central medallion.
Its structure features a Latin cross plan with three naves covered by ribbed vaults on clustered pillars.
The central nave lacks a main altarpiece, which was Gothic in style with panels painted on the Passion of Christ. It is presided over by The Virgin of Cisneros. In the presbytery, a table given by Pope Sixtus V to Philip II is preserved. Its apse has sturdy buttresses and an ambulatory alternating rectangular and triangular segments on Gothic pilasters with cardinas. It is in the same ambulatory where the crypt of the martyred saints is located.
Almost nothing remains of the original Gospel nave. But the Epistle nave still houses the most notable chapels saved after the Spanish conflict and the parish of Saint Peter (1622). The parish has a granite portal in the Herrerian style, while its interior is Baroque with a semicircular dome. The Chapel of the Virgin of Val houses the image, patroness of Alcalá. The incorrupt body of Saint Diego of Alcalá is preserved in its namesake chapel and displayed to the faithful on his feast day (13th of November).
The cloister (17th century) is simple in arched design, Herrerian style with engaged pilasters between each arch. The Interpretive Center is located in its galleries.
The Diocesan Museum was inaugurated in 1997. Noteworthy are the monograph of the Holy Children Justo and Pastor and the tomb of Archbishop Carrillo.
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