Santa Marina district

The church of Santa Marina was built after the Christian conquest of 1236 and by 1256 there are already documentary references to it, making it the oldest of the Fernandine churches together with Santa María Magdalena. A fire seriously damaged it on 23 June 1880 and forced a two-year reconstruction; worship was not restored until 17 July 1882. It has been listed as a historic-artistic monument since 1931.

The neighbourhood keeps the memory of hard times: between May and November 1786, an epidemic of intermittent fevers caused 1,214 deaths and 11,657 cases across the whole city, and Santa Marina was, together with San Lorenzo, one of the hardest-hit neighbourhoods, with 111 recorded deaths. A few years later, between 1789 and 1790, the City Council invested 46,000 reales, plus an additional 3,000, in drainage and paving works to channel the streams that flooded its streets every time it rained.

The Puerta del Colodro, now vanished, marked one of the entrances to the neighbourhood; according to tradition it was scaled by the almogavar Álvar Colodro during the conquest of January 1236. On its north-eastern edge, the Malmuerta Tower, built between 1406 and 1408, separated Santa Marina from the rest of the Axerquía.

The neighbourhood is easily explored on a short walk that starts in its main square and then heads into its quieter streets.

The square brings together the façade of the Fernandine church, with its three naves and its tower by Hernán Ruiz the Younger, and the monument to Manolete, a work by the sculptor Manuel Álvarez Laviada inaugurated on 8 May 1956. It is the natural starting point for exploring the neighbourhood.

Formerly called Calle Ancha, it is the main artery of the neighbourhood: it starts next to the church and extends towards what was once open countryside. It concentrates much of the local shopping and of the courtyard houses that still open in spring.

On the edge of the neighbourhood with the rest of the Axerquía, this early 15th-century defensive tower also served as a prison for nobles and, centuries later, as an astronomical observatory. Its name recalls the legend of a woman buried there after being unjustly murdered by her husband.

One of the most secluded corners of the neighbourhood, with running water all year round thanks to an old system of Arab wells connected by an underground channel. A good contrast with the bustle of Plaza del Conde de Priego.

From the Mosque-Cathedral, Santa Marina is about twelve minutes' walk via Plaza de la Corredera. By bus, Aucorsa's circular line C2 stops right in front of the Church of Santa Marina.

Spring and autumn are the best times to stroll around Santa Marina, when the heat is not oppressive and the courtyard houses open their doors. The neighbourhood combines well with a visit to the nearby Palacio de Viana, Plaza de la Corredera or the neighbouring districts of San Lorenzo and San Agustín.