Medina- sidonia church

we drove up and through the Arc Bethlehem. thought we would not make it through it was so narrow. we then walked up to the church where someone leaned out of the window and told is there was a magnificent cultural area to see....the inside if the church. Church of Santa Maria, so we paid our 5 e and went in. it was beautiful. more Mary statues for thier floats and we saw the platform for the float. their alter was similar to the cathedral in Seville with 22 scenes carved to show some of the stories of Mary and the life of Christ. this church too was built on top of an old mosque. Alfonso X took the town from the moors in 1264. this church dates from the 16th century when the Duke was hoping to make it the seat of the bishop for the area. it was one of the dukes of medina-sidonia who led the Spanish armada against Elizabeth I
...apparently he was not an good seaman and got seasick. however their family was one of the very sucessful aristocratic families in spain. see some info on the red duchess one of the recent members who died in 2008. she was quite the character.
https://www.andalucia.com/province/cadiz/sanluc…

we did climb to the top of the bell tower and you could look down and see the old town remains behind the cathedral. there was a nice cloister attached to the church.Read more