Lucena - Iglesia de San Mateo

Lucena was known to the Moors as Al-Yussena. From the 9th to the 12th century, Lucena was an important Jewish center and was characterized by a predominantly Jewish population. In the 11th century, there was a large Talmudic academy here.

With the beginning of the Almoravid and Almohad rule, the number of Jews fell drastically. The Jews fled to places in the Christian north, were forcibly converted to Islam or deported as prisoners to North Africa. Lucena was conquered by the Almohads in 1148, after which it ceased to exist as a Jewish center.

Today, Lucena is a city with around 50,000 inhabitants and is known for its “Semana Santa”.

The church of San Mateo was built on the ancient ruins of the main synagogue of Lucena. After the arrival of the Almohad Empire in 1138, the synagogue was converted into a mosque and, finally, in 1240 it was consecrated as a church after the conquest by Ferdinand III of Castile.

In 1498, when Diego Fernández de Córdoba, governor of the Donceles and I Marquis of Comares, decided to demolish the original structure by virtue of its new status and build a new temple under the design of the architect Hernán Ruiz I. The tower was completed in 1501 and the church was probably completed in 1544.

The octagonal tabernacle chapel is a landmark of Andalusian Baroque, designed by Leonardo Antonio de Castro and built between 1740 and 1772