CHURCH OF CARMEN DE ABAJO
30 minutesThe convent began to be built between the 15th and 16th centuries, outside the walls of the San Pablo gate. It was destroyed in 1626 by the flood of San Policarpo; after its reconstruction, it suffered severe damage during the War of Independence and the Ecclesiastical Confiscations (Desamortización). Finally, it disappeared in the mid-19th century when a road was built over its remains. Of the complex, only the Chapel of the Third Order, completed in 1756 under the direction of Manuel de Larra Churriguera, and some minor 18th-century dependencies, such as a workshop house with sheds and a snow well, are preserved.
Inside, works by prominent Spanish Baroque artists are preserved: Manuel de Larra Churriguera, author of the temple and its doors; Alejandro Carnicero, creator of the carving of the Virgin of Carmen offering the scapular to Saint Simon Stock; and Claudio Coello, author of two canvases depicting Saint John of Sahagún and Saint Thomas of Villanueva.
Next to the entrance, a plaque commemorates that Saint John of the Cross lived and wrote part of his work here; nearby, a sculpture by Fernando Mayoral depicts him writing.
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The presence of the Calced Carmelites in Salamanca dates back to the 14th century, when they established themselves in the orchards of the Tormes river plain. After the flood that destroyed their first house in 1480, they received the parish of San Andrés, located outside the walls of the Puerta de San Pablo, in a marginal suburb next to the Tormes, an unhealthy environment marked by tanneries, slaughterhouses, and ill-reputed inns.
The primitive church of San Andrés was modest, but during the 16th century the complex was expanded with new dependencies and a study center, the College of Santa Teresa, where San Juan de la Cruz resided between 1564 and 1568. Prominent masters such as Pedro de Lanestosa and Juan del Ribero Rada participated in these works. However, the devastating flood of the Tormes in 1626 almost completely destroyed the convent. Thanks to the impulse of Father Juan de Orbea, it was quickly rebuilt and consecrated in 1651.
The plans and elevation of the new convent were made by Fray Alonso de San José and Fray Diego de la Encarnación. Testimonies from those who knew it before its ruin and some prints made during the Peninsular War allow us to know that it was a large building -100m long by 45m wide-, with a rectangular plan and towers at the four corners, in which clear influences of San Lorenzo de El Escorial could be appreciated.
The Peninsular War caused serious damage to the convent, then used as barracks. Shortly after, the exclaustration of 1835 and the Disentailment of 1836 led to its sale and definitive disappearance. In the 1850s, the so-called Circuit Road —today Paseo del Rector Esperabé—literally passed over the remains of the old church and the cloister of San Andrés. Only three 18th-century constructions survived: some service houses and stables, a snow well, and the chapel of the Third Order of Carmel.
This chapel, built from 1747 by the Third Order of Carmel, initially followed the designs of Francisco Álvarez, although the direction of the work soon passed to Manuel de Larra Churriguera. Although it was not destroyed, it suffered damage caused by the war, the Disentailment, and a fire that destroyed its altarpieces. The main altarpiece, designed by Andrés García de Quiñones, disappeared then, although it is known thanks to a precious design of it that has been preserved.
In the 1940s, the Carmelite Province of Castile was restored, which allowed for the creation of new houses for discalced friars. In Salamanca, the architect Francisco Gil designed a new conventual building, completed in 1975, with a marked Neo-Baroque style to harmonize with the historic chapel of the Third Order, to which it was attached.
The church features a single nave, covered by a simple barrel vault with lunettes and with the choir located at the foot. Niches for altars open in the side walls, today stripped of the altarpieces and sculptures that originally adorned them, destroyed by a fire.
Its facade stands out for its sobriety, except for the main door, which displays Baroque ornaments. It presents a triangular pediment with a small oculus, a high window to illuminate the choir, and a lintelled door. The latter is framed by a Baroque molding, flanked by pilasters supporting a curved pediment, above which the coat of arms of the Carmelite Order is placed, supported by angels.
The chapel also preserves a side door, integrated into the university residence that the Carmelites built in the mid-20th century, attached to the Baroque chapel of the tertiaries. After a careful rehabilitation, it can now be contemplated from inside the convent or from the epistle nave of the church. The side portal reproduces the composition of the main one: a lintelled door, in this case with a broken triangular pediment and the coat of arms of the Carmelite Order at the top.
It featured a main altarpiece designed by Andrés García de Quiñones, which was destroyed during the Peninsular War; its design is known from a magnificent drawing that is preserved.
Currently, the main altar is presided over by an interesting sculptural group representing the Virgin delivering the scapular to Saint Simon Stock in the presence of an angel. It was made by Alejandro Carnicero in 1728 for the church of the disappeared Convent of San Andrés. The group consists of three life-size, well-crafted carvings.
On the walls near the chancel are two magnificent canvases by Claudio Coello, depicting Saint John of Sahagún and Saint Thomas of Villanueva, both Augustinian friars linked to the convent of San Agustín in Salamanca. They belonged to the University Study Hospital and were ceded to this chapel in 1849.