Iglesia de Santiago (Church of Santiago), Cadiz

The Church of Santiago, is a 17th-century temple that stands on the edge of the Cathedral Square. Built in 1635 by Jesuit brother Alonso Romero, the church was part of a Jesuit college established on the site of a medieval hermitage. After the devastating 1596 Anglo-Dutch raid led by the Earl of Essex, the original structure was rebuilt in the Mannerist style influenced by Vignola’s design for the Gesù in Rome.

The church’s main façade, overlooking the square, features paired pilasters made of local oyster stone and two marble portals with intricate detailing, one of which was brought from Genoa. At the corner, a two-level tower rises: the lower section mirrors the classical style of the façade, while the upper level, added in the 18th century, takes on an octagonal shape topped with a distinctive dome in the Baroque style.

Inside, the church houses a series of elaborate 17th-century Baroque altarpieces, most notably the Main Altarpiece crafted by Alejandro Saavedra and gilded by Juan Gómez Couto. Among its treasured artworks is the Christ of the Pity, the only documented sculpture in Spain by Francesco Maria Maggio.