The foundation of the College of Santa Cruz de Valladolid is due to Cardinal Pedro González de Mendoza. In 1483 he had received the ratification of Sixtus IV by which he could proceed with its foundation (Andrés Ordax, 1995). The construction of the College was carried out with great speed, since an inscription is preserved in the hallway with the date 1491, by which time the building should have been practically completed (Zalama, 2023). The purpose of the building was to house chapels, priests and students, a function it fulfilled until 1835 (Pendás, 1983; Sobaler, 1987).
Between 1838-1933 the Colegio de Santa Cruz became the Provincial Museum of Fine Arts of Valladolid and housed “the best of the art produced and collected in Valladolid over the centuries” (Redondo Cantera, 2011). The root of its conversion to a museum was due to the Disentailment of Mendizábal (1835-1836), when convents and monasteries were suppressed and property was expropriated. Those of cultural interest became public property. The objective was to gather them in museums for the enjoyment of the population and to protect them (Redondo Cantera, 2011). In 1838 the College was awarded to the Board of Classification of Artistic and Scientific Objects, which was replaced the following year by the Board of Conservation of Artistic Objects (Redondo Cantera, 2011). In order to adapt the building to the pieces and their new function, it was necessary to carry out repairs to windows, roofs, etc., a task that was entrusted to the architect Epifanio Martínez de Velasco.
Currently the Colegio de Santa Cruz is the seat of the Rectorate of the University of Valladolid. It also houses the Arellano Alonso Museum of African Art and the Historical Library of Santa Cruz.
Bibliography
ANDRÉS ORDAX, Salvador (dir.) (1995): El Cardenal y Santa Cruz. V Centenario del Cardenal Mendoza, Universidad de Valladolid, Valladolid.
SOBALER, María de los Ángeles (1987): Los colegiales mayores de Santa Cruz (1484-1670): una élite de poder, Consejería de Cultura y Bienestar Social, Valladolid.