The Parroquia de San Antón is a church located in the Old Town of Bilbao and dedicated to Saint Anthony the Great. The church was built at the end of the 15th century on the banks of the River Nervion and adjacent to the Bridge of San Anton. The exterior of the building testifies to its great age having Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque characteristics. In fact, looking at the building alone would be enough to see that different parts of the building were built at different times with the different styles mentioned. The most prominent parts of the exterior are the Baroque tower and belfry with a dome and decorated with lantern or urn finials. The tower is built next to a Gothic nave with buttresses arranged in the Gothic fashion. To see the Renaissance styling, you need to be on the north bank of the river, where there’s an arch entrance on the north west corner. Although Renaissance in character, it does have some Gothic elements using ribbed vaults. The interior of the church is deceptively small. I think parts of the building must be off limits. The high altar is one of the more decorated parts of the church. It has a large wooden sculpture of the crucifixion, surrounded by paintings in Mannerist, dark and brooding style. The dark themes of the paintings are enhanced by the dark interiors of the church. There are three main chapels and all are simply decorated, although there is a large Baroque altarpiece and another with a beautiful Gothic altarpiece displaying Pieta.

I really enjoyed my visit to San Antobio. I had a combination ticket for €6 that gave access to this snd the nearby Santiago Cathedral, also in Casco Viejo a few minutes walk away There is a short but very informative audio guide included in the ticket. It gives a great insight into the buildings architecture and history. Lovey snd peaceful, much smaller than the cathedral and a shorter visit