CHIESA DI SAN GIACOMO DEGLI SPAGNOLI

The church was built in 1540 by order of the Spanish viceroy Don Pedro de Toledo, next to a hospice for Spanish soldiers. Consecrated to St James, the patron saint of Spain, it houses the tombs of Hispanic dignitaries throughout the 16th century. Don Pedro himself chose it as the site for his imposing mausoleum by Giovanni da Nola (1570). The high altar, decorated with superb white marble bas-reliefs representing the dead Christ, is the work of Lorenzo Vaccaro.