Jonathan Cohen's photos

Following the conquest of Málaga in 1487, the Catholic Monarchs informed the Pope to tell him of the significant extension of the Christian faith that had been achieved in the south of Spain. The Pope responded by thanking them for their efforts and proclaiming that two young people who were martyred at Málaga in 305 during the persecution by the Roman Empire were to be the city’s patron saints. These were Saints Ciriaco and Paula, who died at the site now known as Martiricos.

Founded in 1494 in honour of San Ciriaco and Santa Paula, patron saints of Málaga, who according to legend died defending their Christian faith. After the Christian conquest, the Reyes Católicos (Catholic Monarchs) founded this church in honour of these saints. This church is home to no fewer than five canonical brotherhoods linked to Málaga’s Easter Week celebrations, which is greater than the number associated with any other of the city’s churches. Although originally built in the Gothic-Mudéjar style, the church has undergone several renovations to put right the damage it has suffered throughout its history: a cannonball in 1854, an 1884 earthquake and looting in 1936 when it was turned into a Quartermaster’s Store in the Spanish Civil War. Since the end of the Civil War, it underwent restoration work in 1945 and 2006, to become one of the finest examples of the Rococo style in Málaga. There is a beautiful neobaroque altarpiece from Málaga’s image-maker Pérez Hidalgo.