Parish church of San Salvador in Leganés
Asset of Cultural Interest in the category of Monument
The parish church of San Salvador is a notable example of 1660th and XNUMXth century Madrid architecture. The apse, begun in the second quarter of the XNUMXth century on a small church probably Mudejar, follows the late Gothic model characteristic of the period, while the nave and the body of the church, begun around XNUMX, are framed in the classicist mannerism, very present in Madrid architecture of the first half of the XNUMXth century.
It has a set of twelve altarpieces, among which those by the Madrid architect and altarpiece maker José Benito de Churriguera stand out.
A recent comprehensive renovation of the building has ensured the preservation of these architectural and artistic values, which have led to its declaration as a Site of Cultural Interest in the Monument category.
Building history
Through the documentation kept in the Parish Archive of the Church of San Salvador and in the Municipal Archive of Leganés, together with a detailed analysis of the building and the archaeological study, it is possible to determine both the existence of a primitive medieval temple and the different construction phases and the architects, stonemasons and builders who intervened in the current church throughout the 16th and 17th centuries.
Documentation reveals the existence of a primitive construction, a church dedicated to the Holy Trinity, which must have remained until the second quarter of the 16th century, when a new temple was built to replace the previous one, of which the apse is still preserved today. During this period of economic expansion, the small and poor churches, mostly Mudejar, were improved or replaced by buildings of better construction quality and greater capacity.
The new head began to be built around 1537 and was completed around 1584, when it was
He commissioned the main altarpiece. During this long period, numerous master builders were involved, such as Pedro de Goitia and Juan Díaz Blanco, and at the beginning of the 16th century, one of the great architects of the Toledan circle, Nicolás de Vergara el Mozo.
In the 17th century, the church was enlarged, following the trend of classicist mannerism, executed by the master builders Juan Veloso, Tomás Román and Pedro Lázaro Goiti, who had worked on works designed by Juan Gómez de Mora, disseminator of this trend.
Finally, the Toledo master Bartolomé Zumbigo completed the interior of the church around 1671 and executed the baptismal font and the holy water fonts.
Church of San Salvador: Site of Cultural Interest
In contrast to the structural simplicity and architectural sobriety, the church of San Salvador retains a Magnificent set of twelve baroque altarpieces from the 1665th and 1725th centuries, made of gilded and polychrome wood, located in the chancel, transept arms and side naves. They were commissioned from the architect, altarpiece maker and sculptor, José Benito de Churriguera Ocaña (Madrid, XNUMX-XNUMX).
They feature the characteristic Solomonic column, stipes, shafts wrapped in fantastic decoration, large decorative corbels, surfaces with carved foliage and sculptures of little angels, along with incoming and outgoing entablatures.
The main altarpiece of the church of Leganés has been considered the manifesto of this altarpiece movement that would have a wide diffusion during the first third of the 18th century, giving rise to the Madrid Churrigueresque school.
The church also preserves a magnificent organ, located in the upper choir at the foot of the temple, built in the 18th century.
The church also has a vestry, a Ugarte chapel, a baptismal chapel and a bell tower, three entrance doors with wooden gates and fittings from the 17th and 18th centuries, as well as two sgraffiti paintings depicting a penitential psalm framed by borders, and two others of smaller dimensions depicting an indulgence of Pope Sixtus IV.
It preserves some movable assets such as lecterns, songbooks and plans which, due to their significance as historical documentation of the church, are also considered subject to the BIC declaration.
