Dressing room of the Virgin of the Rosary
CHURCH OF SANTO DOMINGO
There is a small place, unknown, secluded but enigmatic, inside the Church of Santo Domingo, the Dressing Room of the Virgin of the Rosary.
REALEJO NEIGHBORHOOD
It is a construction framed within the eighteenth century, full apogee of the Baroque style, located in the neighborhood of Realejo.
ROSAY VIRGIN IN THE SANTO DOMINGO CHURCH
This dressing room of the Virgin of the Rosary, co-patron of Granada, commemorates on its four sides the victory at the Battle of Lepanto.
It was a naval battle happened on October 7, 1571, which pitted the all-powerful Ottoman Turkish Empire against Spain, Venice and the Papal States.
Pope Pius V requested help from the king of Spain Philip II, and in this way Spain put its ships, Venice its strength and very good generals, and, the Pope, the prayer.
THE BEST SAILOR EVER: ALVARO DE BAZAN
Throughout the dressing room you can breathe this battle: its innumerable mural paintings with boats and flags, its floors full of boats, gunpowder, arquebuses…
And the Virgin of the Rosary, the mediator thanks to her, Don Juan de Austria and Don Álvaro de Bazán, they sought the most accurate strategy and, one advancing, and another in the rear, they led to the final victory.
The first, Don Juan of Austria, was stepbrother of Felipe II, natural son of Carlos V, who was recognized at the end of the life of the Emperor, who was our commander.
The second, Don Álvaro de Bazán, military and Spanish admiral of great renown and key man in victory because thanks to his orders, the Christian fleet was saved in three critical moments.
Pascasio de Baños was the great patron who built this Dressing Room dedicated to the Virgin of Rosary.
He left us a unique work, unrepeatable and, also left us, many enigmas, because we do not have plans, nor do we know who did it, and it will not have known precedents or later imitators, I repeat, unique and unrepeatable.
Although we do know the author of the mural paintings, from the rooms adjacent to the Dressing Room: Domingo Echevarría known as Chavarito. He left us the Battle of Lepanto in ceilings, pendentives, and walls.
The Virgin of the Rosary, symbol of the Dominicans, presents different attributes: the star, which is one of the most characteristic; the dog; and of course, the rosary, which usually carries in the hand, the neck, the belt.
The room is dedicated to this Virgin, where a Virgin dressed in a mantle and dressed in silver is shown, where this color invades walls and ceilings.
TIPS
It is a place that we can not miss in the city.
Some days it is open to the public for the small donation of 2 euros, but if you want to come with us, we will make the reservation any day of the week and we will explain the history of this Dressing Room of the Virgin of the Rosary.