The Hospital of La Piedad in Benavente

The Hospital of La Piedad, located at Calle Santa Cruz 5, Benavente, is a Bien de Interés Cultural. It was founded by the V conde de Benavente, don Alfonso Pimentel and his wife, doña Ana de Herrera y Velasco. Originally, it served as a hospital for pilgrims and was also empowered to attend to the sick passing through Benavente. From 1902 to 2019, it housed an old age home, attended by the Congregación de las Hermanitas de los Ancianos Desamparados. Today, it is primarily a tourist attraction.

The Hospital features beautiful art. The facade of the building features a beautiful semi-circular arch with an amplio número de dovelas framed by a large alfiz. In its upper cornice, an inscription in French or Gothic minuscule is found, above which stands a high relief depicting the scene of the Piedad. The interior of the building features a square courtyard, surrounded by galleries on two floors, all made of stone.

The arches are round, with algo de peralte; four arches can be found on each side of the courtyard, except for the side corresponding to the entrance to the chapel, in which there are three carpanel arches. The decoration is not always the same, but varies on each side of the courtyard. The capilla del Hospital de la Piedad has some artistic elements of interest. The ironwork gate of the chapel is adorned with a frieze decorated with Gothic motifs. The burial place of don Juan Pimentel, the nephew of the count founders and lord of the priorate left to this hospital in lands of Vidriales, is located at the foot of the chapel gates.

In the interior of the chapel is a sculpture of "La Muerte de San José", which is one of the few sculptures representing that scene in the world.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons