Marchena: Churches, City Walls and Festivals

The historic ensemble of Marchena is classified as a Bien de Interés Cultural and is listed in the Catálogo General del Patrimonio Histórico Andaluz.

History and Architecture

The Puerta de Sevilla, popularly known as the Arco de la Rosa, is one of the most important entrances to Marchena’s Almohad city-wall complex, dating from the 13th century, and is associated with a legend based on medieval events.

Santa María de la Mota is the oldest church in Marchena. It was built within the ducal palace as a private chapel for the dukes and displays a Mudéjar style. Its construction took place in the 14th century, around 1356, following the model of Seville’s Gothic-Mudéjar churches. The tower is crowned by several bell levels from the 16th century with Mannerist features.

The Iglesia de San Agustín was built in the last third of the 17th century as a convent church. Today, it is a Baroque temple with transitional elements towards the Neoclassical style; its interior decoration shows parallels with Mexican and Peruvian art.

The Parroquia de San Juan Bautista is Gothic-Mudéjar in design and was altered through renovations and additions in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Iglesia de San Juan Bautista houses two of the six surviving organs in Marchena, while the historic organ collection includes instruments from the 17th to the 19th centuries. In 1634, the parish commissioned nine paintings by Francisco de Zurbarán to decorate the sacristy.

The choir of the Convento de San Andrés has two sections covered by illusionistic rib vaults, completely decorated with tempera paintings created in 1714. The former Convento de Santa Clara was demolished in 1975; the chapel was preserved. Its main altarpiece is a gilded 17th-century work with five sections and a transitional style between the Renaissance and Baroque.

The Iglesia de San Juan, a temple dedicated to the Beheading of John the Baptist, was protected as a Bien de Interés Cultural in 1931. Since 1990, the Museo Lorenzo Coullaut Valera has been a permanent exhibition featuring originals, designs and replicas of the artist’s sculptures, and is housed in a 12th-century Almohad tower. Marchena also has permanent exhibitions on historical memory, including “Dignidad versus Represión”. The Montemolín archaeological site in Marchena dates from the Bronze Age.

Festivals and Religious Traditions

The Plaza Ducal was formerly the castle’s parade ground. On Good Friday, it hosts the staging of the Passion of Jesus known as the “Mandato”. “El Mandato” is one of the few staged representations of sacred drama in Andalusia. Semana Santa de Marchena was awarded the designation “Fiesta de Interés Turístico Nacional de Andalucía” in 2001.

For Corpus Christi, balconies and façades in Marchena are decorated with hangings, garlands, flags and flowers. The Escuela de Saetas “Señor de la Humildad” is considered the first saeta school founded in Andalusia.

Events and Routes

The Feria de Marchena is now focused on leisure and entertainment. The fairgrounds of the Feria de Marchena are located near the road from Paradas. The section of the Vía Verde de la Campiña between La Luisiana, Fuentes de Andalucía and Marchena opened in September 2016.

Getting There

Marchena can be reached from Seville via the A-92. Marchena can also be reached from Seville by the Seville–Málaga–Granada–Almería railway line.

More Destinations

More destinations: Caserío Santopétar, Aguadulce, Cantoria, Llano de Los Olleres, Vélez-Rubio, Pulpí, Fuente Amarga, Terque

To the higher-level travel overview: Almeria.