The Churriguera family consisted of at least two generations of Spanish sculptors and architects, originally from Barcelona

Barcelona

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

, but who had their greatest impact in Salamanca

Salamanca

Salamanca is a city in western Spain, in the community of Castile and León. Because it is known for its beautiful buildings and urban environment, the Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. It is the most important university city in Spain and is known for its contributions to...

. The highly decorated Churrigueresque

Churrigueresque

Churrigueresque refers to a Spanish Baroque style of elaborate sculptural architectural ornament which emerged as a manner of stucco decoration in Spain in the late 17th century and was used up to about 1750, marked by extreme, expressive and florid decorative detailing, normally found above the...

 style of architectural construction is named after the family.

The family of José Benito de Churriguera

José Benito de Churriguera

José Benito de Churriguera was a Spanish architect, sculptor and urbanist of the late-Baroque or Rococo style...

(1665-1725) were sculptors, already known for their elaborate architectural decorations. When José Benito began designing buildings, the decorations became even more extravagant and exaggerated. Later both his sculptor brothers, Joaquin (1674-1724) and Alberto (1676-1750) were to become architects and the family tradition that was carried on by the next generation had begun.