Santa María la Blanca Church (Former Synagogue)

Santa María la Blanca Church was built in the 13th century as a synagogue, but then it was transformed into a Christian temple in 1391, after the slaughters in the Jewish quarter of Seville. In 1252, King Alfonso X, after the taking of Seville by his father, granted a synagogue to the Jews inhabiting the San Bartolomé and Santa Cruz area. The synagogue stayed until 1391, when it was converted into a Christian church. The name and dedication of Santa María de las Nieves was imposed on it by the cathedral´s chapterhouse. The side gateway, which can be accessed from Archeros street, conserves two Roman shafts crowned by several Visgoth chapters which correspond to the old synagogue. The current church of Santa María la Blanca was built in 1662 in a Baroque style, and it has a structure divided into three naves which, in turn, is split into red marble columns. The vaults are decorated in plasterwork and attributed to the Borja brothers. Murillo was probably involved in the church decoration Works and it was he who painted the midpoints, plundered by Marshal Soult during the French invasion, subsequently being replaced with copies