The Palacio de la Merced is a historical building in Córdoba, Andalusia, southern

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Once home to the convent of La Merced Calzada, it is now home to the Provincial Government of Córdoba (Diputación de Córdoba, in Spanish), a sovra-municipal services institution of the province of Córdoba.

History

Excavations in the site have revealed the presence of

ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

s. Later findings include medieval remains of a

baptistery In Church architecture, Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek language, Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned ...

and of a

crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...

, identified with the Palaeo-Christian or Visigothic basilica of St. Eulalia, assigned by some scholars to the reign of king Reccared I. The foundation of the palace is traditionally connected to Peter Nolasco, whom king Ferdinand III of Castile had donated the Basilica of St. Eulalia after the conquest of the city in the early 13th century. There are few traces of the 13th convent, however. The current edifice dates to the 18th century, the church dating to 1716-1745. The later has a Latin cross plan, with a nave, two aisles and a

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

. The cloister, with a rectangular plan and round arches, was finished in 1752. Some renovations occurred in 1850, when it became a hospital, and 1960, when it became the seat of the Provincial Deputy. In 1978 the church suffered a fire that destroyed the high altar and other artworks.

External links

Page at Cordobapedia
{{Coord, 37.8904, -4.7801, type:landmark_region:ES, display=title Buildings and structures in Córdoba, Spain Baroque architecture in Andalusia Religious buildings and structures completed in 1745 Palaces in Andalusia Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Province of Córdoba (Spain)