The Hospital of honorable or venerable priests - Hospital de los Venerables or the Hospital of Honorable or Venerable Priests is another important tourist attraction in Seville. The baroque building occupies a place in the Plaza de los Venerables, right next to the Murillo Garden and the Alcázar Palace, in the Santa Cruz district.
In the 17th century, priests used it as their residence, and it was also used to care for the elderly and the poor. Today, the Velázquez Center is located here in honor of the painter Velázquez and other artists and painters of Seville. The founder of the hospital is Justino de Neve. The building has two parts, the first part is the work of Leonardo de Figueroa who built many baroque churches in Seville.
Thanks to the contributions of priests, nobility and other people from the state administration, the construction of the hospital was successfully completed. One part of the building contains an authentic staircase and a tiled gallery. A church with ribbed arches is located in another part of the building, where there are works of art by Veldes Leal. The artistic traces of Lucas Valedo and Virgilio Maltoni can be seen on the high altar. Inside the gallery there are works by Murillo, Roldano, Martinez Montanjes.
In the courtyard of the hospital there is a fountain without water, with ceramic tiles. The exhibition collection of contemporary art consists of works by Lafon, Gordilja and Roman Gaya.
Today, the building is visited by a large number of visitors. In addition to the permanent exhibition of works of art, temporary exhibitions are also organized. One such exhibition was 2019/2020 Picasso's interpretation of the eternally popular theme of the Golden Age, Mother and Child.
