Granada Cathedral: Chapel of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

In the Cathedral of Granada we can find up to 15 chapels, making the site a space of great attraction and beauty. On this occasion, we are going to describe the one corresponding to the Nuestra Señora del Carmen Chapel.

Would you like to identify the iconography, the decorative elements and the architectural content of one of the most amazing chapels of the Cathedral of Granada? Stay and read this post, we will show you everything you need to know below!

Architectural content

The first thing that catches our attention after viewing the Nuestra Señora del Carmen Chapel is the existence of a central altarpiece, the work of Juan Serrano and Francisco Salmerón, which was made between 1770 and 1773. In this altarpiece we find an urn with the image of Santa Casilda and a large semicircular arch flanked by slanted pilasters with attached stipes.

Due to its date of manufacture, the style of the altarpiece is somewhere between late Baroque and Rococo. Archbishop Pedro Antonio was the patron of this chapel, commissioning the painting of the walls and establishing a decoration with geometric motifs, tracing 2 large vases of lilies that are repeated on the sides and on the starts of the intrados of the arch.

Iconography

The image that presides over the chapel corresponds to Our Lady of Mount Carmel and, next to it, we can see Saint Elias and Saint Simon Stock. This is due to the fact that the Carmelite tradition considers the prophet Elias to be the founder of the Order while Saint Simon Stock was the great propagator of Carmelite devotion.

Also present on the sides of the altarpiece are Saint Teresa of Avila, wearing a polychrome habit, scapular and cape, and Saint John of the Cross, represented with a crucifix and a closed book, with golden trimmings that contrast with the polychrome of the carving of Saint Teresa.

Decorative elements: stained glass windows and the half-grille

Finally, to get to know the Chapel of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, we could not forget to mention some decorative elements such as the stained glass windows and the half-grille.

In this sense, in the 3 upper stained glass windows, the sacred parentage is set in the centre, and the Archangel St. Michael and the Archangel St. Raphael on the sides. They are French stained glass windows from the last third of the 19th century and are developed in Raphaelesque language with Gothic elements.

As for the half-grille, it has a single body crowned with a pointed top and is 1.98 m high and 6.57 m wide. They are made of iron, have no sill and are formed by simple balusters.

Why visit the Cathedral of Granada?

As you have seen throughout this article about the Nuestra Señora del Carmen Chapel, inside the Cathedral of Granada we can find different areas full of history, delicacy and symbolism, conveying to tourists the cultural, religious and historical identity of the society during past times.

If you would like to visit this monument, do not hesitate to buy your tickets to the Cathedral of Granada on the official website of the Archdiocese of Granada. 

Enjoy the beauty of this temple and admire its splendour!