Many times there are beauties or small jewels that can go unnoticed and that is exactly what I call treasures and I love to find them.
This jewel that I will show you today is linked to a special story. I was able to visit it very recently, but seeing it for the first time on the outside goes back more than six years, so it has a story for me.
After moving to this city, a few months later my family arrived, but we could not all live together because of space, so my mother, for a short time, lived in the centre of the city and very close by was this square called Plaza de la Victoria, because of its proximity to the Sanctuary of the Victory, patron saint of the city.
In this square the family would gather once a week to enjoy some time together, the time I had off from my work. One afternoon a week we would enjoy this beautiful square and take two of the kittens in their travel bags to get out a bit. The square has improved a lot since then, it has been refurbished.
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Although it is called that way, there is something inside it called the monkey garden, and although I don't really know why they have given it that name, I have noticed that there are numerous sculptures and two very beautiful water fountains.
On the other hand, now in spring all the trees are in bloom, which gives it a very special magic. The sun's rays shine beautifully through the branches and leaves of the trees and illuminate the water fountains and the decorations in the square.
It is very close to the historic centre and several bus lines pass through it, and there is a lot of traffic. But it's still a very green place and you can enjoy nature, even if it's on a small scale.
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I really like the fact that the square has art both in its small sculptures and in the larger ones that form part of the water fountains. It is very tidy, clean and organised and that is very good despite the fact that many people pass through the place.
Around the square you can see a lot of buildings, many of them very old and historical, as the neighbourhood of Cristo de la Epidemia is one of the oldest in the city.
From the time I first saw the square, I could see that there was a church in front of it, which later became a parish church as well, but I had never entered it or visited it.
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The Church of San Lázaro was noticeably old and had been restored several times, but I never suspected that it belonged to the 15th century and was so old. On the outside it appeared to be very large, although I later discovered that it was not so large. But knowing that it was actually planned as a chapel of a hospital, the hospital of San Lazaro, dedicated to the cure of lepers, I could understand that its size was because it had only been a chapel.
In history it suffered a lot of deterioration for example by floods and that made its deterioration so important, that is why it has been restored so many times throughout history, for example by enlarging it. The history of this place is a lot and if you want to know more you can read here.
Its ancient and mudejar style, like many of the churches in the city, presents a very beautiful chapel or church, although simple on the outside. It seems, being in a corner, to be hidden, so I consider it a jewel that I found, a treasure small in size but big in history.
When I entered the place I found a small church, in fact, there were few people inside, but the place was so small that I didn't even have to get very close to the altar and so as not to disturb I took pictures from the back of the place. A place with baroque style, it was notorious and a lot of wood that I liked a lot. I could see that it has an image of Saint Joseph and it dates from the 17th century.
On the other hand, the cross that appears on the exterior façade is the beginning of the Way of the Cross of Monte Calvario and I was very surprised to see that. So I realised that this small church and the sanctuary of La Victoria are closely related, as is the hermitage of Monte Calvario. They are very close to each other and related in various ways.
This visit to the beautiful square and the church gave me another perspective on the history of the place and I learned a lot more, which I really enjoyed.
Thank you very much for joining me today, I send you my best regards. See you soon.
Amonet.
