Oratoria de la Santa Cueava - Cádiz - Andalusia

Next to the Parish Church of the Rosary is the Oratory of the Holy Cave, which belonged to the Congregation of the Spiritual Retreat, founded in Cádiz around 1730.

The facade of the complex is very simple, articulated by Doric pilasters, between which is the public altarpiece with the painting of the Virgin of Refuge by Franz Riedmayer.

The interior is divided into two rooms : a cellar dedicated to the passion and death of Christ, and an upper room dedicated to the glorification of the Eucharist.

The lower chapel, built in 1783, was designed by Torcuato Cayón as an austere space suitable for penitential practices , where the image of Calvary is of great importance.

Due to its decorative richness , the upper or sacrament chapel forms a refined contrast with the penitential chapel, in which the small temple is of great importance. Of great artistic interest in the upper part of this space are the circular canvases, three of which are the work of Francisco Goya and depict the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, the parable of the wedding guest and the Lord's Supper; they are considered the most successful group of religious artworks of the Aragonese artist.

Willem Vandenameele