Churches and convents
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Loja's skyline is full of bell towers. Each one tells a different story of the Christian city that followed the Andalusi one.
Narration text
We start with the Iglesia Mayor de la Encarnación. Built after the 1486 conquest on top of the old great mosque, it blends Gothic, Mudéjar and Renaissance styles. It is the religious symbol of the new Christian city.
Very near it stands the Iglesia de San Gabriel, with its elegant Renaissance façade. Inside it preserves valuable religious imagery, especially linked to Loja's Holy Week.
The Convento de Santa Clara, founded in the 16th century, is still an enclosed convent. Its church is a haven of calm. The Poor Clares are famous in Loja for their handmade sweets.
Not far away, the former Convento de San Francisco preserves its cloister, today turned into a cultural space.
Finally, the Ermita del Calvario crowns one of the most moving viewpoints in town, a place of popular devotion linked to Holy Week.
Each church is one more layer in the story of Loja: faith, yes, but also art, power and the everyday life of the centuries that followed the Reconquista.
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Discover Loja · cultural audioguide