Ávila - Cathedral

A striking feature of the cathedral interior, with aisles flanking the nave, is the red and white granite stonework of the walls, which dates from the early building phase. From the crossing there are fine views of the dome and the stained glass in the transepts. The richly carved choir-stalls (1544) in the coro were the work of Cornelis de Holanda and Isidro Villoldo, who took as their model the stalls by Diego de Siloé in the church of San Diego in Valladolid. The outer walls of the coro are richly decorated with reliefs in Plateresque style.

The retablo in the Capilla Mayor was begun in 1499, largely finished by 1508 and finally completed in 1522. Leading artists like Pedro Berruguete, Juan de Borgoña and Santa Cruz took part in the decoration of the church with paintings and sculpture. In the trassagrario, to the rear of the high altar, is the alabaster tomb of Bishop Alfonso de Madrigal (d. 1455), in Italian Renaissance style (1518). The bishop was known as El Tostado (the "burnt one") because, as a great reader, he frequently burned himself with his candle; he is shown seated, reading.

There are nine side chapels containing some very handsome tombs; the finest are the Capilla de San Antolín in the north transept, with a magnificent retablo, and the Capilla de Nuestra Señora de Gracia in the ambulatory, with the tomb of Bishop Sancho (d. 1181), the first bishop to be buried in the cathedral.

On the south side of the cathedral, entered through a Romanesque doorway, is the 14th century cloister.