Antiguo Hospital de Pobres Pasajeros

The “Antiguo Hospital de Pobres Pasajeros”  is one of the most distinctive heritage buildings in Cambil. It was founded under the stewardship of the Brotherhood of Our Lady of the Incarnation, which managed its income and sustained it for centuries through donations and inheritances. Its purpose was simple and essential: to shelter and assist people passing through these mountain routes. Over time, the hospital changed location several times—first in the lower part of Calle Real (which eventually became known as Hospital Street), later moving to Calle del Pilar (today Calle Posadas), before settling in its current site in the 18th century.

The building as we see it today dates from the second half of the 18th century and is renowned for its extraordinary doorway—one of the most strikingly Baroque façades in the province of Jaén. Despite its modest size, the entrance is tall and dynamic, with a narrow, vertical composition. It is arranged in two levels and an attic: a lintelled door framed by pilasters, a cartouche bearing the town’s coat of arms, and above it a second level with a window and convex ironwork that contrasts with the concave façade, intensifying the Rococo effect. Because of its lavishness, historians have questioned whether this façade truly belonged to a charitable institution or to a residence linked to Bishop Fray Benito Marín (whose coat of arms appears at the top). The hospital ceased operating at the end of the 18th century, coinciding with the processes of disentailment.