Hospital de las Cinco Llagas, home of the Parliament of Andalusia

The hospital was founded by Catalina de Ribera, of the House of the Adelantados, who obtained a papal bull from Alexander VI in 1500 to create a hospital for poor women in 16th-century Seville, then a port of the Indies with 150,000 inhabitants.

The project was designed by Martín de Gainza (1546–1556), the most ambitious of Spanish Renaissance architecture at 40,000 m². Hernán Ruiz II — the same architect who completed the Giralda — finished the free-standing church between 1558 and 1570.

It operated as a hospital for 431 years (1546–1977): first as a hospital for poor women, later as a Military Hospital in the 19th century, and finally as a General Hospital, reaching 3,000 beds at its peak. It closed in 1977 due to poor conditions.

In 1992 it became the seat of the Parliament of Andalusia: the seats of the 109 members occupy the former church, with the coat of arms of Andalusia on the apse and the speaker's table standing where the main altar once was. The Statute of Autonomy was approved here, and it's where the President of the Regional Government is elected.

The Renaissance main façade by Martín de Gainza (1546) is 200 metres long: three tiers with Doric and Ionic pilasters, windows with alternating pediments, and a flamboyant balustrade. The 1755 Lisbon earthquake left cracks still visible today.

8 of the 9 planned courtyards survive, with double-height galleries and round arches for cross-ventilation. The Central Courtyard preserves the original hydraulic system: cisterns, fountains and waterwheels that guaranteed clean water when the rest of Seville drank from the Guadalquivir.

The free-standing church by Hernán Ruiz II (1558) has a Latin-cross floor plan, a single nave in two bays, and a dome on pendentives, taller than the rest of the building so it could be seen from all over Seville. The main altarpiece is by Diego López Bueno, with paintings by Alonso Vázquez (1600) to a design by Asensio de Maeda.

In the restored gardens, the sculptural group of Hercules with two lions stands out, a work by José López-García Seguiri made for Expo '92 and installed here in 2007 as a symbol of the Andalusian coat of arms.

As the seat of the Parliament of Andalusia, it can't be visited freely: access depends on parliamentary activity and requires original ID for security checks. The Parliament organises free individual visits on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons (book 2–3 weeks ahead at visitasguiadas@parlamentodeandalucia.es); visits are also free for state schools.

There's no access on days with plenary sessions or committee meetings, usually Thursdays. Around 85% of the original 16th-century building has been preserved.

The name refers to Christ's five wounds from the crucifixion (hands, feet and side); it was also known as the Hospital de la Sangre.

The hospital was built on the Huerta de Macario, which gave its name to the Macarena neighbourhood, facing the Puerta de la Macarena in the city walls. The Basílica de la Macarena is a 5-minute walk away.

It's the largest Renaissance hospital building in Europe (40,000 m²), and its courtyard-based ventilation design was copied by hospitals across Europe; it predates El Escorial as a major Renaissance project.