Granada Cathedral

Coordinates: 37°10′34″N 3°35′56″W / 37.176°N 3.599°W / 37.176; -3.599
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For Granada Cathedral in Nicaragua, see Our Lady of the Assumption Cathedral, Granada.
Metropolitan Cathedral of the Incarnation
Santa Iglesia Catedral Metropolitana de la Encarnación
District
Archdiocese of Granada
RiteRoman
Ecclesiastical or organizational statusCathedral
Location
LocationGranada, Spain
Geographic coordinates37°10′34″N 3°35′56″W / 37.176°N 3.599°W / 37.176; -3.599
Architecture
TypeChurch
StyleRenaissance, Baroque
Groundbreaking1526
Completed1561

Granada Cathedral, or the Cathedral of the

Archdiocese of Granada. Like many other cathedrals in Andalusia, it was built on top of the city's main mosque after the reconquest of Granada.[1]

History

Panoramic view of the main nave
Facade with bell tower

The Cathedral of Granada is dedicated to Santa María de la Encarnación. Unlike most cathedrals in Spain, construction was not begun until the sixteenth century in 1518 in the centre of the old Muslim Medina,

Spanish Renaissance
style was supplanting the Gothic in Spanish architecture. Foundations for the church were laid by the Enrique Egas starting from 1518 to 1523 atop the site of the city's main mosque.

By 1529, Egas was replaced by

Vitruvian orders of architecture
.

Subsequent architects included Juan de Maena (1563–1571), followed by Juan de Orea (1571–1590), and Ambrosio de Vico (1590–?). In 1667 Alonso Cano, working with Gaspar de la Peña, altered the initial plan for the main façade, introducing Baroque elements.[5] The cathedral took 181 years to build. It would have been even grander had the two 81-meter towers included in the plans been built; however, the project remained incomplete for various reasons, among them financial.

Features

The facade consists of a framed structure in the form of a

pilasters, similar to San Andrés de Mantua of Leon Battista Alberti. The pilasters don't have capitals
but projections sculptured in the walls, as well as attached marble medallions. Above the main door is located a marble tondo from "José Laughing on the Annunciation". Additionally, there is a vase with lilies at the top, alluding to the virgin and pure nature of the mother of God.

Granada's cathedral has a rectangular base due to its five naves that completely cover the cross. All of the five naves are staggered in height, the central one being the largest. At the foot of the cathedral there are two towers. The left one, called the tower of San Miguel, acts as a buttress which replaced the planned tower on that side.

Dome, Catedral de Granada

The dome is populated with gold stars on a blue field. The central oculus of this vault is surrounded by petal shapes.[5]

The main chapel consists of a series of

Isabel and Ferdinand by Pedro de Mena y Medrano. The busts of Adam and Eve were made by Alonso Cano.[5] The Chapel of the Trinity has a marvelous retablo with paintings by El Greco, Jusepe de Ribera
and Alonso Cano.

The

sacrarium, raised between 1706 and 1759, follows the classic proportions of the whole, keeping the multiple columns of the transept
the shapes of the compound of Siloam.

See also

References

  1. ISBN 978-0-8018-9192-2
    . Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  2. ^ "Tourist Guide to Granada Cathedral and other places of tourist interest in Spain". Michelin. 2014. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  3. ^ "Granada Cathedral", Religiana
  4. ^ "Granada Cathedral", Instituto de Turismo de España
  5. ^ a b c Catedral de Granada

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cathedral of Granada.
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