Our Lady of the Head (Motril)

Patrona de Motril (Granada)

On a hill that dominates Motril and his Vega, in what was the Nazarí alcazaba, the sanctuary of Our Lady of the Head, great spiritual reference of the city since the 16th century, rises.

Origin and history

The sanctuary rises on the ruins of a Nazari alcazaba, considered the residence of Queen Aixa, mother of Boabdil. The temple was built in 1631 by the master Isidro of the Girl. The image of the Virgin of the Head has been the main spiritual reference of Motril since the 16th century, with a documented devotion since the 17th century; the building, damaged in the Civil War, was restored in the mid-20th century.

The tradition - already marginally collected in a document of 1630 - speaks of a legendary origin: Portuguese sailors would have brought the image from Corinth to 1510, arriving to Motril after a storm and raising a first hermitage, attested to about 1519. A very specific feature is the joint procession of the Virgin and Jesus Nazarene on the "Day of Earthquakes," since January 13, 1804.

It should not be confused with the Virgin of the Head of Andújar (Jaén). Canonical coronation does not consist of the sources consulted.