The Basilica, Royal Sanctuary and Parish of Santa María de la Victoria y de la Merced is one of the main churches in the city of Malaga, standing out for housing the image of Santa María de la Victoria, patron saint of Malaga and its Diocese and for its impressive crypt of the counts of Buenavista.
During the siege of the city Ferdinand II of Aragon was visited by brothers of the Order of Minimums, who comforted him with the message of San Francisco de Paula, its founder, announcing a quick victory to occur three days later, as well was.
The primitive church was built at the beginning of the 16th century and the state in which it was at the end of the 17th century would not support the construction of new additions and extensions, which advised that it be demolished and in its place another with a new plant be erected, lasting the works from 1693 to 1700, when the new church was inaugurated. At first, in the primitive church, the Virgin was worshiped in the first chapel on the Gospel side, until in 1606 she was transferred to the main altar.
From an architectural point of view, the highlight of the complex is the Camarín tower, one of the first to be built in Spain, similar to the one in Guadalupe or the Virgen de los Desamparados in Valencia.
At the end of the 1990s, the City Council reformed the building's surroundings to enhance its value. For this, numerous buildings on Fernando el Catolico street that were attached to the old square were demolished and their land used for the expansion of the square. The access ramp to the temple was moved from Compás de la Victoria street to the crossing between Fernando el Católico and Mitjana. The square, which remained with its current configuration, was inaugurated in 1998.
In 1993, the mortal remains of the Servant of God, in the process of beatification, Mr. José Gálvez Ginachero, were transferred from the San Miguel cemetery to the crypt under the Chapel of the Immaculate, where they rest together with those of his wife Doña María Moll Sampelayo.