Santa Florentina Convent

Dominican nuns founded Santa Florentina convent in the second half of the sixteenth century, and dedicated it to Saint Florentina. The convent was later rebuilt in 1714. It currently consists of constructions from several eras, but seventeenth- and eighteenth-century structures predominate. It is therefore considered to be the oldest Dominican convent in Écija and one of the first to have existed in Andalusia.

A pointed arch portal and alfiz, which leads to the torno revolving window, are preserved from the first building. The cloister or main courtyard consist of two tiers of semi-circular arches atop columns, dating back to the seventeenth century.

Most of the convent’s rooms are eighteenth century, including the sacristy (1708), the refectory, the church (1714), the main portal (1759) and the bell tower.

The main portal is stone and Baroque in style. It is framed by pairs of columns with mascarons and a broken pediment, which houses a niche with a statue of Our Lady of the Rosary, displaying the date 1759 on the console.

The church comprises one single nave, which houses an exceptional Baroque main altarpiece.

The Dominican nuns who live in the convent bake sweets and pastries, which can be bought through the torno revolving window, including bizcochos marroquíes (dense cake topped with egg yolk and icing), fairy cakes, manjar del cielo (a flan-like dessert), roscos fritos de anís (anisette-flavoured doughnuts), rosquillas de San Martín de Anís (San Martín de Anís doughuts), trufas de avellana (hazelnut truffles), tortas de San Antonio (San Antonio tortas), tortas de ajonjolí (sesame tortas), and tortitas de almendra (almond tortas).