Issue date: 02 Jan, 2012
The Post Office has issued a special edition of five stamps entitled “Everyone in support of Lorca”. These stamps illustrate part of the Murcia town’s wealth of architectural and artistic heritage which was affected by the recent earthquake. The Post Office hopes that this edition will contribute to creating awareness among the general population of the importance of restoring this heritage.
The Virgin of the Orchards Sanctuary houses the statue of Lorca’s patron. There was a Franciscan convent on this site which was the Order’s first centre in Lorca. This late 15th century building was washed away in 1653 by a flash flood. The new church and convent were completed by the middle of the 18th century, with the latter remaining open until the Ecclesiastical Confiscations of the 19th century.
The Castle, which was originally Arab, is positioned on an elevation from which it dominates the entire city. It has two towers, the Alfonsina and the Buttress, both built between the 13th and 15th century during Christian control.
The Town Hall is an impressive and attractive building with decoration dating from 1678, with Renaissance influences, which was the work of the sculptors Antonio and Manuel Caro, authors of both the royal and the city coats of arms; the porches were built by the master Ortiz de la Jara around 1737; the ironwork on the central balcony was wrought by the blacksmith Agustín Manzano in 1740; and the rest of the building’s decoration, with sculptures of Justice and Charity and new coats of arms, dating from 1739, was from the hand of Juan de Uzeta.
Guevara Palace or “Palace of the Columns” has a beautiful and supremely Baroque front elevation and façade. The building belonged to the Guevara family estate and Juan de Guevara García de Alcaraz, Knight of the Order of Santiago, commissioned the excellent restoration work between 1691 and 1705, ordering the construction of its attractive grand staircase, extraordinary façade and courtyard.
St. Patrick’s Collegiate Church is a building of monumental proportions, both the façade and the side wings, whose visible building elements display typical Renaissance and Baroque motifs. As with any building of this size, it was built gradually, with the architectural structure being completed in 1714. In subsequent years the decoration, both inside and out, was carried out until it reached its current appearance.
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