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Church of the Holy Spirit

Work on this church began on 24 May 1485, the year of the conquest of Ronda, by order of the Catholic Monarchs, and finished around 1505. It was built over an old mosque in the Arrabal Alto and dedicated to the Holy Spirit. Its appearance recalls a fortress. The doorway is very plain, flanked by two large buttresses with pinnacles; the door is a semicircular arch framed by an alfiz, the only Mudéjar feature of the church, and above it a small niche holds the dove of the Holy Spirit. Inside there is a single nave divided into three vaulted bays, a large triumphal arch opening onto the main chapel and, at the head of the church, a Baroque-Rococo altarpiece with a panel of Byzantine influence, the image of Nuestra Señora de la Antigua. Above the altarpiece are three coats of arms: two of Bishop fray Bernardo Manrique and one imperial of the House of Habsburg. In one chapel is preserved the Santo Entierro, which is carried in procession on Good Friday.

Things to do at Church of the Holy Spirit: 3 missions

• Find the dove above the doorLook above the entrance arch: a small niche holds the dove that symbolises the Holy Spirit, to whom the church is dedicated.
• Look at the buttresses and pinnaclesWalk round the façade and compare the two large buttresses topped with pinnacles with the fortress-like look the church had when it was built after the conquest.
• Look for the Mudéjar alfiz on the doorwayStand in front of the façade and find the semicircular arch framed by an alfiz, the only Mudéjar detail of the church.

Near Church of the Holy Spirit

Source: Web oficial - Turismo de Ronda