Chapel of the Oidor – Tourism Office

Capilla del Oidor (Chapel of the Oidor). It currently houses the city’s Central Tourist Office.

At the end of the Plaza de Cervantes, we can see the remains of the apse of what was once the old parish church of Santa María la Mayor, destroyed by fire in July 1936, and its isolated tower, now restored as a lookout point, which offers excellent views of the plaza, the city and the surrounding hills. After San Justo, Santa María was the most important parish in Alcalá. It was built in the middle of the 13th century in what is now the eastern front of the Plaza de San Diego, and in 1543 it moved to the former church of San Juan Bautista or “of the Knights”, which was largely demolished in the middle of the 16th century to make way for a new church in a transitional style from Gothic to Renaissance, which was never completed due to lack of funds.

Despite the radical transformation, some of the chapels that belonged to it have been preserved and are now occupied by the Tourist Office and the Exhibition Center. Here, visitors will find interesting temporary exhibitions in the so-called Chapel of Christ of Light or Antezana (Baroque, 17th century). The main attraction is the Oidor Chapel, so called because it was built in the early 15th century by the “oidor” (judge) of King Juan II of Castile, Don Pedro Díaz de Toledo, for the burial of his family. Of note is the high vaulted plasterwork of the entrance arch, with Gothic decoration on the intrados. The grille is Renaissance, from the 16th century.

During its restoration, the baptismal font, in which Miguel de Cervantes received the sacrament on October 9, 1547, was moved here in 1905. In the chapel there is a facsimile copy of the Baptismal Book of the Parish of Santa María, which contains the baptismal record of Miguel de Cervantes, as well as reproductions of the records of four of his siblings who were also baptized in this parish (Andrés, Andrea, Luisa and Rodrigo).

Text in Spanish: Alcalá World Heritage Guide. By M. Vicente Sánchez Moltó.