The Counselor of Culture and Sports, Patricia del Pozo, inaugurated the rehabilitation of the church of San Andrés in Granada on Monday, accompanied by the Mayor of Granada, Marifrán Carazo, and the Archbishop of Granada, José María Gil Tamayo García. The partial rehabilitation was carried out under the Alhambra Plan, in collaboration with the Archdiocese and the Friends of San Andrés association.
Specifically, the works have allowed the recovery of the bell tower, the south lateral nave, and its Plateresque portal. A new staircase to access the choir has also been built, and a side door for access to Capilla de San Andrés Street has been opened, as detailed by the Junta in a note.
«The restoration project of this Mudejar temple had an investment of over 550,000 euros from the Alhambra Plan,» noted Del Pozo, in addition to the over 165,000 euros funded by the Archdiocese of Granada, and the 50,000 contributed by the Friends of San Antonio association. «The restoration of the San Andrés temple is an example of commitment to the defense of heritage, as it has brought together the Andalusian Government, civil society, and religious entities,» she emphasized.
Approved by the Provincial Commission of Historical Heritage of Granada in July 2022, the works at San Andrés, executed over 22 months starting in May 2023, have been carried out «prioritizing the Mudejar splendor of the original building over its subsequent neoclassical transformation, and also acknowledging the significant alterations suffered by the temple in the 19th century due to the serious fire of 1818,» in the words of Del Pozo.
Among the interventions carried out, the opening of the side door to Capilla de San Andrés Street and the removal of the mortar plaster «to reveal the Mudejar masonry of the original temple» were highlighted.
Additionally, Del Pozo mentioned, «a new staircase to access the choir has been built, and interventions have been made to consolidate the tower and the main entrance towards Elvira Street.» Thus, Del Pozo emphasized, «the restoration of this temple of great historical and heritage value, located in one of the least favored areas of Granada, has been a significant contribution to the urban regeneration strategy of the city of Granada.»
The Mayor of Granada pointed out that this restoration was made possible «thanks to the Alhambra Plan of the Junta, the Archdiocese of Granada, and the Friends of San Andrés Association, a joint effort that not only rescues an architectural gem but also revitalizes the identity and strengthens the cultural fabric of Granada. The rehabilitation of the Church of San Andrés is an example of the power of collaboration and love for our roots.»
The agreement for this intervention was signed by the Ministry of Culture of the Andalusian Government and the Archdiocese of Granada in 2020 within the framework of the Alhambra Plan to finance three actions in the surroundings of the Alhambra and the Generalife with an amount of 2.1 million euros.
Specifically, it was agreed to restore the organ of the Epistle of the Cathedral of Granada, nearing completion, with an investment of over a million euros (1,071,455 euros); the restoration of facades and repair of roofs of the Church of San Cecilio, completed last autumn (516,122 euros), and the rehabilitation of the bell tower, the facade, and the annex nave of the Church of San Andrés, with an amount of 563,545 euros.
IGLESIA DE SAN ANDRÉS
The parish of San Andrés was one of the first canonically erected in the Archdiocese of Granada, dating back to 1501. The church building, in Mudejar style, began construction on the site of an old mosque in 1528, becoming one of the seats of the first co-cathedral of Granada. The construction of its tower was completed in 1542.
The church was located on the main entrance road to the city of Granada, under the defensive arch and gate of the wall that gives access to the current Elvira Street, in the lower Albaicín district. Its Plateresque facade is a masterpiece by Juan de Marquina and is presided over by the image of the apostle San Andrés.
In 1588, due to a lightning strike, part of the tower had to be rebuilt. More than two centuries later, in 1818, it suffered a devastating fire that affected part of the central and lateral nave of the building, losing its images, altarpieces, and archives. Its reconstruction, started in 1830, led to significant alterations in its structure.
Located in one of the once most popular neighborhoods of the city of Granada, today this parish has a parishioner population affected by the depopulation of the historic center. This made the aspiration to recover the temple seem difficult to achieve for both the parish and the Brotherhood of La Borriquilla and the Friends of San Andrés Association, created to promote the rehabilitation of the building.
So much so that the church was closed for worship for over 20 years, from the late 90s until the 2020s. It was only from then on that the Brotherhood of La Borriquilla partially restored the central nave in order to return to its canonical seat, which it had to abandon for over two decades. The recovery of this temple finally became a reality over four years ago, in December 2020, with the signing of the Alhambra Plan.
In the temple, the image of Christ of Health is venerated, dating back to the 16th century and attributed to Diego de Siloé, recovered about three years ago with the help of Sacred Art grants awarded by the Ministry of Culture of the Junta de Andalucía.
PLAN ALHAMBRA
The Alhambra Plan was approved by the Andalusian Government at the initiative of the Ministry of Culture in December 2020, with the aim of investing the surplus of the treasury of the Nasrid monument in the recovery of heritage located around the monumental complex. This fulfilled, in the words of the counselor, «one of the great demands of Granada.»
The total investment of the plan exceeds 20 million euros, distributed around four collaboration agreements signed with the City Council of Granada (14.9 million euros), the University of Granada (1.3 million euros), the Archdiocese of Granada (2.1 million euros), and the Abadía del Sacromonte Foundation (1.1 million euros). Likewise, within this plan, the Rodríguez Acosta Foundation has started receiving annual capital funding transfers for its operation, amounting to 941,478 euros.