The building was completed in 1597. It consists of a single floor, with a central, around which the different units were distributed. In the South wing it had rich orchards and gardens. This school was made to house twelve noble servants, squires of the house of the Lord Duke and other good and clean blood men of his state. At present it has been rebuilt by the City Council and is used as an extension of the "El Convento" Secondary School and Nursery.

Carissa is an impressive Roman site that, however, still has a lot to discover.

In it you can see hypogea, necropolis, columbariums...

If you need to take your guided tour, contact us by phone 956 72 82 64 or by email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we will inform you.

The passage from this Iberian to the Roman civilization can be observed in the Bornos area through the ruins of Carissa Aurelia, located about 3 km west of Bornos. First of all, thanks to the discovery of some lions carved in stone, we can know that there was an important Iberian population center there. Apparently, this type of sculpture was placed on funerary monuments, fulfilling a symbolic function of defense of the deceased, which is a custom of Eastern origin. Along with these sumptuous images, paid for by a ruling and powerful social class, there are small figurines, possibly votive offerings deposited in tombs of a lower social class. We also found remains of pottery made on a wheel and decorated with horizontal bands. All these remains make us think of an advanced standard of living, with a society of great economic prosperity, based on agriculture, livestock and commerce.

Subsequently, the Roman influence spread and over the years, Carissa became an important Roman city. According to Pliny, we know that Carissa had, within the Roman administrative system, the category of Municipality, which means that its traditional administrative and legal organization was respected, although it was dependent on the Governor of Bética. Later, during the government of Vespasian, the right of citizenship was extended throughout this territory, leaving Carissa as a Municipality to become "Cives romani" which gave it the privilege of minting money. Numerous archaeological and sculptural remains from this Roman period have been found in Carissa, although most are in private collections, among which are: fragments of inscriptions; a small bronze sculpture representing a nude Venus; two female marble sculptures representing water nymphs; a bust of the goddess Ceres with traces of polychromy; a female head, currently on display at the Town Hall; abundant coins and remains of ceramics.

The last stage of Carissa corresponds to the decline of the Roman imperial power, which brings as a consequence the entry of the barbarian invaders and the establishment and permanence of the Visigoths until the arrival of the Arabs. From this moment some archaeological remains have been found, among which stands out a tombstone that refers to the relics of various saints and that, at present, is embedded in the façade of the Parish Church.

There are several monuments in Bornos related to the Via Crucis such as the Monasteries of Ntra. Sra. del Rosario (16th century), the Monastery of San Bernardino (16th century), the Casa Palacio de los Ribera (16th century) and the Hermitage of Calvary (S. XVII).

In addition, during our visit we can see many other monuments built in the Renaissance. Bornos is one of the few towns in the province with architecture from this period.

We can still see several crosses that indicated the stations of the Via Sacra: We started at the old Monastery of San Bernardino, the "Cruz del Santito" at Calle Amargura 8, "Cruz de los valientes" at Calle Amargura corner with Cuevas (named after be a place where men stayed to challenge each other), Cruz in Calvario 3 street, Cruz-azulejo in Calvario 14 street and Ermita del Calvario.

The Via Crucis refers to the passage of the life of Jesus Christ that goes from the time he is interrogated and condemned by Pontius Pilate until his crucifixion and death on Mount Calvary (in Jerusalem). Between both places there is a physical distance, route or route that in Jerusalem has been identified with a series of streets or places that receive the name of "Via Dolorosa"

The year was 1518 when Don Fadrique Enríquez de Ribera, Spanish nobleman, Marquis of Tarifa and Mayor of Andalusia, began a pilgrimage route from Bornos to Jerusalem. Once there, count the steps of the Via Dolorosa, 1,321 steps or 997 meters, the same distance from the Palace of Pontius Pilate to Mount Calvario. On his return to Bornos, he calculated the same distance from the gate of the Hieronymite Monastery of Santa María del Rosario to a point where he built a shrine which he called Cruz de Esperilla.

In this way, Don Fadrique Enríquez de Ribera manages to represent a closer and more accessible Via Dolorosa without the need to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. This Via Crucis was also carried out simultaneously in his House in Seville (Casa de Pilatos) to the Temple of the Cruz del Campo. In both routes (Bornos and Seville) the distance is somewhat greater than in the original Via Crucis in Jerusalem. We do not know the date on which the tradition of the Via Crucis to the Temple ceased to take place in Bornos, but the writer Doña Frasquita Larrea tells us in her travel book about her attendance at a traditional pilgrimage there on May 4, 1826. The road was lined with crosses and portable altars that marked the different stations. This Route was the origin of one of the most characteristic acts of Holy Week in Spain. Seville and Bornos were the first places where the penitential stations were established, being considered, by many historians, as precursors of the current Holy Week.

Click here for Map of the route

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