ARCHITECT, Spanish
(active 1600-1630 in Madrid)

Interior view

begun 1617
Photo
Monastery church, Alcalá de Henares

The church of the Benedictine convent departed completely from the strict classicism of the Herrera school. It was built by Sebastián de la Plaza for Cardinal Archbishop Bernardo Sandoval y Rojas. The oval structure with dome (the only surviving one from the period) must have been based on Roman archetypes reported in Spain in the treatises of the day or illustrated in engravings of Roman buildings of oval form.

The construction of the church is also attributed to Juan Gómez de Mora.