Church of Santiago el Real
The first stone was laid in 1553 by Saint Francisco de Borja, head of the Jesuits in Spain.
With the title of Santiago there was a church already named in 1177, which was reformed in the 16th century and functioned as such until 1770, the year in which it was transferred to the current building, originally the church of the Jesuit novitiate.
The Society of Jesus settled in Medina del Campo shortly after the order was established, receiving some land located in front of the Plaza de Santiago for the construction of a school.
The original layout was carried out by the architect of the order Fray Bartolomé de Bustamante and the first stone was laid in July 1553 by Saint Francisco de Borja, then a Jesuit commissioner of Spain, opening for worship ten years later.
Of the old complex, only the church remains, today the parish of Santiago. Its reliquary chapel, completely rebuilt after the fire of 1665, bears witness to the importance that the Jesuits gave to the cult of relics and devotion to the martyrs.
The altarpiece is dedicated to the founder of the school, Saint Francisco de Borja, whose sculpture is surrounded by canvases with scenes from the life of the Virgin.
