Old Hospital of San Agustín

XVII and XVIII centuries The building of the old Hospital de San Agustín was built at the expense of Bishop Sebastián de Arévalo y Torres. Construction began in 1694 and was completed in 1701. Bishop Montoya, in the 15th century, had founded a Hospital with the title of San Agustín, within the walls. This Hospital became obsolete, both for its size and its location, and this was the opinion of Bishop Arevalo who, however, respected the name under which Montoya had founded it. The name of the architect who drew up the plans for this monumental work, whose execution was the responsibility of Ignacio Moncaleán and Pedro Portela, costing more than 80,000 ducats, is unknown. The Hospital follows the model of the palace of the House of Austria, of the Alcazar type with a rectangular façade flanked by two towers. In the splendid facade, of strict symmetry, there are two niches that shelter the statues of San Sebastian, saint of the same name as the bishop builder, and San Francisco, because this prelate belongs to the Franciscan order. In the center, over the door and main balcony, there is a niche at the foot of which is the coat of arms of Bishop Montoya. The coat of arms of this prelate appears between the corbels that support the Solomonic columns that flank the niche where the sculpture of San Agustín, titular of the Hospital, is placed. The niche is crowned by a triangular pediment broken to place the arms of Arévalo. To the sides of the central body the towers are erected with a spire. In their fronts they appear, on a balcony, the arms of the bishop Arévalo, of a variegated baroque style. This facade is a bridge of connection between the austerity of the first baroque, with great Herrerian weight, and the full baroque. Crossing the door, to the right of the portal is the chapel. The courtyard of the Hospital is formed by two floors of arcades. The lower arcade is semicircular and the one on the main floor is made up of bell-shaped arches.