SAN BARTOLOMÉ
FACULTY OF PHILOSOPHY AND LETTERS (FORMER CARDENAL SALAZAR HOSPITAL)

Following an attack on the Jewish or Malburguet quarter in 1391, and the later exodus and gradual conversion of Jews to Christianity, the Christian district of San Bartolomé was founded. In 1399, the district grew in size with the incorporation of the new Alcázar Viejo or San Basilio quarter, although it was left practically abandoned when many Jews settled in other parts of the city. In this district the small church of San Bartolomé - which remaind unfinished - was built in the late 14th century. During the first half of the fifteenth century was added a funerary chapel devoted to Santiago (St James), that is one of the three best works of Mudejar art to be found in Córdoba, along with de Royal Chapel of the Mezquita-Catedral and the Sinagoga.

The word mudejar comes from the Arabic term “mudayyan” meaning “he who has been allowed to remain”. The term is used to the Muslims that stayed in the territories after the arrival of Christians and were permitted to retain their religion, language and customs. Mudejar art is a hybrid artistic style combining Hispano-Muslim decorative and architectural elements with other styles in vogue at the time. The Mudejar style is the artistic expression of medieval Spanish society in which Jews, Christians and Muslims lived side by side.

The conjunction of the spectacularly decorated chapel, with the intimate patio and entrance portico, testimony to the unfinished church of San Bartolomé, shape a stunning space that offers a singular visit.

The chapel preserves its original 15th-century floors of brick and glazed tiles, as well as the geometric wall mosaics similar to those found in the Royal Chapel. The intricate Mudejar-style plasterwork on the walls is decorated with latticework, the coat of arms of the Order of the Band  (named after the band that the king awarded his most loyal noblemen) delicate ataurique stuccoadornments, and Kufi and Nasji inscriptions praising Allah, which today have a merely ornamental function. Restoration work carried out in 1933 revealed an extraordinary collection of thirty-five Nazari tiles on the front of the dais leading to the altar. The tiles, which depict hunting scenes, musicians, minstrels and real and imaginary animals in what is believed to be an allegory of the senses, now form part of the Archaeological Museum’s collection.

Today, the little Chapel of San Bartolomé forms part of the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters on the site of the former Cardenal Salazar Hospital; a hospital that was founded in 1704 on the grounds of what were then known as the “Simancas houses”. This hospital is one of the most interesting examples of the 18th-century civil architecture in the city.

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