San Pablo Church

This is the church of an old Dominican convent that was founded in 1276 by Alfonso X´ s wife, Mrs Violante. The Cardinal Juan de Torquemada ordered its construction, and later, it was reformed by the Duke of Lerma.

It is a one nave church with an elongated transept and five chapels that lie between the buttresses.

The facade is framed by two small towers- pinnacle with vaulted niches and sculptures. It can be included into the group of altarpiece type and was carried out by Simón de Colonia. It belongs to the later Gothic style and is very adorned. It is divided into two parts: the first one has Spanish- Flemish influences and the second one has a more classicist influence. It is finished off with a pediment decorated with Renaissance motifs. There is a coat of arms of the Catholic Kings on a scale- shaped background.

The Sacristy has a fantastic star-shaped vault that is decorated with coats of arms of the Dominican order and with images of the Dominican Saints. The Major Chapel is the burial place of the Duke of Lerma. We can find the Cristo Yacente by Gregorio Fernández and the statues of St Catalina de Siena, St. Teresa, St. Pedro Mártir and St Vicente Ferrer in one of its chapels.