Santa María del Reposo

Tower of the Church of Santa María del Reposo among palm trees at sunset

Parish Church of Santa María del Reposo

The parish church dedicated to Nuestra Señora del Reposo, patroness of Campillos, is the canonical home of all the Semana Santa brotherhoods.

Construction began in 1536 and went on for years without a coherent plan, until in 1804 the risk of collapse led to its demolition. This must have been partial, as some books describe chapels built before that date which still survive intact.

María Santísima de Gracia y Esperanza with the parish church tower in the background.
The parish church tower, behind the trono of Gracia y Esperanza.

The rebuilding was completed in 1821, leaving the building as it can be seen today: in the Doric order, with a spacious nave and two aisles and fourteen spaces between the columns, including four at the arches and crossings. The structure is notably solid.

The building is crowned by a square tower, 40 metres high, roofed with blue and white tiles. The present bells were installed on 28 July 1787, cast in Seville by the master founder Vicente Farco. The clock that can be seen on all four faces of the tower was installed in 1631.

The façade reflects the richness of Sevillian Baroque, magnificently exemplified in the main doorway, with elaborate stonework combining straight and curved lines by the architect Antonio de Figueroa, one of the great master builders of Seville, as well as its later adaptation to the Neoclassical style in the 19th-century alterations.

Gallery

Central nave of the church, with wooden pews, arches and the altar at the far end. Detail of the carved stone doorway and its wooden door. Side doorway of the church and bell tower under a blue sky. Church tower seen from a narrow street between white façades. Main façade of Santa María del Reposo, with its stone doorway and a street lamp. Image of the Virgin with a crown and green mantle before a gilded altarpiece. Crucified Christ in a chapel with reddish columns and gilded decoration. Detail of a crowned Virgin, with white lace and a green mantle. Image of Christ in a white robe, with raised hand and a golden palm. Image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus above the tabernacle of a gilded altarpiece. Image of Our Lady of Fátima with three kneeling figures at her feet. Image of Saint Joseph with the Child and a staff, against a red background. Crowned Virgin in an embroidered red dress and a mantle in golden tones. Image of the Child Jesus in an embroidered purple robe, among candles. Gilded high altarpiece with an image of Christ and floral decoration. Chapel with the recumbent Christ in a glass casket (urna) and a Virgin in the background. Gilded altarpiece with three niches and an altar table covered in purple cloth. Image of María Auxiliadora with the Child in her gilded altarpiece, beneath her sunburst. Image of the Santísimo Cristo Ultrajado with the crown of thorns, the golden rays and the rope around his neck. View of the bell tower of Santa María del Reposo and the palm trees in the square.

Header photo: Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.