The history of the Ferdinand church of Saint Mary Magdalene, Cordoba (Spain)

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        The Saint Mary Magdalene Church was built after the conquest of Córdoba by Ferdinand III the Saint. It is situated among the Saint James, Saint Peter or Saint Andrew sections. The Saint Mary Magdalene Section as the place of birth of many known people such as Don Rafael Ramírez de Arellano. It was to very dynamic and rich section, where the shops and the aristocratic houses were mixed up. Today we can see to great conmemorative boards that hang from their façades.
        In the center of the Magdalena Square there was the church, that nowadays there is to garden with banks and to fountain. In front of this there is to square. In the past, in the middle age, there was to bullring, where citizens gathered there from all corners of the city.
        Very few documents relate directly to the church, so we don’t know exactly when it was built but it was supposed to be built in the XIII Century. For example, we know that thank to Don Rodrigo Alfonso de Armenta and Doña Urraca Martínez the church could be built. This couple has to chapel inside, the Dolores Chapel. This chapel was situated in the Gospel side. A document was conserved, dated in 1483, in which Doña Catalina Ruiz, Pedro Muñiz de Godoy’s wife, veinticuatro (twentyfour) of Córdoba, applied for being buried there.
        As in other temples of the medieval city, over time the building has been undergoing changes and additions that have broken their primitive state. The sacristy is an addition to the first third of the sixteenth century, or the vaults of the eighteenth century plasterwork covering for many years the medieval wooden roofs, and which were recently removed. In the eighteenth century the old tower was replaced by the current, when the cover of the foot of the church was blinded to locate the choir stalls, an operation that was conducted also in the central church of Saint Nicholas of La Villa. In 1990 he suffered to great fire that was about to cause his death, since no one is home to worship, to be deconsecrated, at present, the church is managed by the bank Cajasur, which organizes concerts and other cultural events.
        The section of Saint Mary Magdalene had to large area east of the city, in the neighborhood of Ajerquía, close to the wall in that same section, was defended by the tower known as the Donceles Tower, which, according to reports of Teodomiro Ramírez Arellano in his "Paseos por Córdoba" (walks in Cordoba): "... this name, Tower of Donceles, was given because it as kept by the youngest part of the christian army and it was used then to enclose the nobel’s sons who committed to crime". Remains of these primitive defensive structures can still be seen in the Escañuela Street.
        Near there is the New Door, ancient place of access to the east of the city, which is now commemorated by to small column. It was the entrance to the east zone of the city. Philip II entered through this door in 1570. In front of this building, the General Dupont was fired in 1808, the failure prompted the shooting massacre that unfortunately took place in our city.

Text: J.A.S.C.

Traslated by Sara Moretti