Santuario de Nuestra Señora de Belén

The Virgin of Bethlehem is the patron saint of Palma del Río, a patronage that was approved by Pope Pius VII at the request of the town and council of Palma del Río, which had already been worshipping her as its patron saint and protector for centuries. It is known that in the Middle Ages there were two shrines devoted to this figure.

Today, you can see a magnificent sanctuary that has undergone major transformation due to works on the railway in 1857, as well as another reconstruction in 1954. The sanctuary has a shrine, home of pilgrims, brotherhood building, viewpoint with a column and statue of the Virgin, and gardens in the area around the old Fuente de Belén (a fountain).

The whitewashed shrine is North-South oriented and it has a façade with two sections and a belfry with two floors. A large, semi-circular arch acts as the entrance to the small nave covered in tiles made by the local ceramist, Manuel Ramos Rejano. The view would be incomplete if it weren't for the Fuente de Belén, which is framed by a circle of brick and stone with staircases that allow access to the spring.

Finally, the viewpoint. From here, the Guadalquivir Valley and Palma del Río emerge in all their beauty with the green leaves of orange trees, white houses and stunning bridges over the Guadalquivir and Genil rivers.