Iglesia de Santiago

Iglesia de Santiago stands in Málaga as a Catholic church where Gothic-Mudéjar forms meet Baroque interiors. Its separate brick bell tower carries intricate sebka panels and a star-shaped vault. A conical arch leads into the central nave, while three naves unfold behind Corinthian pillars. The wheelchair-accessible building also includes the Chapels of the Pilar and Sagrario, both finished with detailed stucco.

Christian forces established the church after Málaga’s reconquest in 1487, making it one of the first four parishes founded by the Catholic Monarchs. During the eighteenth century, Baroque renovations covered the wooden nave with a barrel vault and reshaped the main chapel beneath a decorated semispherical dome. The church later served as Málaga’s temporary cathedral before the city’s main cathedral was completed. Brotherhoods including El Rico remain connected with the building and its religious traditions.

Pablo Picasso was baptized here in 1881, linking the church to one of Málaga’s best-known artists. A 2016 restoration revealed bright white walls and eighteenth-century architectural drawings on the façade. Those drawings had remained hidden beneath later alterations for generations.