General Map

Main Church (16th-18th c.)

Main Church (16th-18th c.)

A historic church with Gothic and Renaissance architecture, it is notable for its beautiful Renaissance grille, alfarjes and octagonal tower with bells.
Built on the remains of the Aljama mosque, at the foot of the Alcazaba enclosure, it has several construction phases, and it was not until several years after its sacralisation following the conquest of the city by the Catholic Monarchs that important works were undertaken to adapt it as a Christian temple in 1529, when it was rebuilt under a Gothic project following the model of the cathedral of Murcia. In 1531, a strong earthquake destroyed most of what had been built, saving the chevet of the church with its pointed chapels. After the earthquake, a new reconstruction project was commissioned to Alonso de Covarrubias, who designed a new Renaissance temple with three naves, an ambulatory and ribbed vaults. In 1625, the construction of the sacristy and chapterhouse was completed, attached to the chevet of the church and topped by a gallery with semicircular arches, which houses interesting alfarjes inside, as well as a beautiful Renaissance-style grille on its façade. After a new earthquake in 1755, the tower was rebuilt in 1764, reinforcing the first three sections of the tower and adding the last two octagonal sections, where the bells are housed. The church has three entrance doors: the main door, of great beauty, attributed to Diego de Siloé; another one, walled up, as a chapel, and a third one at the foot, next to the tower. Until the 19th century it had the status of collegiate church-cathedral.