Iglesia de San Francisco – One of the oldest Churches in Cordoba.

Iglesia de San Francisco is one of the oldest churches in Cordoba city. The church was built in 1596 and originally belonged to the Franciscan convent of San Pedro el Rael. In the 18th century the church had a face lift and was transformed into a baroque medieval style. The church has an important collection of paintings by artists from the 18th century Cordoba.

A former convent turned into a Church.

The building is itself is not spectacular. It consists of two storeys with two arches and stairs to the upper floor. The arches are semicircular and supported by Tuscan columns. It also serves as a reminder of its former role as a convent. In front of the Church is a beautiful monument and it is worthwhile to take a couple of minutes to admire it.

Major renovations done to the Iglesia de San Francsico.

The inside of the church is really beautiful with a Gothic feel to it. It is not as spectacular as the Iglesia Catedral but it has a completely different atmosphere.

Many historical buildings and Churches go through a phase where they need major restorations. This was no different for the Iglesia de San Francisco. They decided to do it in two phases. The first phase started in 1990 and was completed seven years later in 1997.  Phase two commenced in November 2003 and was subsequently completed in December 2007. Most of the work centered around the dome.

Over the years the Church also needed plaster work and the roof had major water leaks. It was eventually restored to its former Gothic state. but not without drama. Nobody wanted to fund the restoration and the architect that worked on the project, Jiménez Povedano, had a very stressful time to complete the work. It was eventually funded by Junta de Andalucía at a staggering cost of  587,832 euros!