A 1749 hospital for women designed by Pedro Luis Gutiérrez de San Martín

Before the current structure existed, the city of Cádiz struggled to provide enough beds for the sick and wounded. In the late 1500s and early 1600s, women were often left to die in public doorways because the city's only hospital was insufficient for the population. In 1634, the first steps were taken to create a dedicated hospital for women, starting with the purchase of houses to house the sick.

The current building, inaugurated in 1749, was designed by the Sevillian master Pedro Luis Gutiérrez de San Martín. Known as a masterpiece of local civil baroque architecture, the design adapts Andalusian styles to the constraints of Cádiz, utilizing Italian marble and American woods. The interior is organized around two courtyards joined by a double imperial staircase with a vaulted ceiling, which solves the problem of access to the various levels and rooms of the building.

Today, the building serves as the seat of the obispado de Cádiz y Ceuta. It was closed as a hospital in 1963 due to a lack of economic means. A large part of the building is now dedicated to Cáritas, which coordinates social projects and programs for those in need. Inside, a large painting of the Virgin of Carmen remains, featuring a narrative scene at the bottom that depicts a room of the sick being attended by sisters in brown habits.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons