A short distance northwest of the Plaza de Isabel la Católica is Granada's Cathedral of Santa María de la Encarnación, a memorial to the victory of Christian Spain and the country's finest Renaissance church. It was begun in Gothic style by Enrique Egas in 1523, continued in Plateresque style by Diego de Siloé from 1525 onwards and consecrated in 1561 while still unfinished.
The massive west front (1667) was built by Alonso Cano and his successor José de Granados. Over the main doorway (Puerta Principal) is a large relief by José Risueño (1717). On the northwest side of the cathedral are the Puerta de San Jerónimo, with sculpture by Siloé, Juan de Maeda and others, and the richly decorated Puerta del Perdón, completed in 1537.
The sacristy of the Capilla Real in Granada contains a number of outstanding works of art, including pictures by Botticelli (''Christ on the Mount of Olives''), Rogier van der Weyden (''Pietà'') and Hans Memling (''Descent from the Cross''), polychrome wood figures of the Catholic Monarchs in prayer by Felipe Vigarny, Ferdinand's sword, Isabella's crown and sceptre, and a missal which belonged to the Catholic Monarchs.
The Granada Cathedral is entered by the doorway on the Gran Via de Colón, which also leads to the Capilla Real. The interior was not completed until after 1703. With double aisles and a transept, it is richly furnished with sculpture and pictures, mostly by Alonso Cano and Juan de Sevilla. On the entrance arch pillars are statues of the Catholic Monarchs by Pedro de Mena and, above them, heads of Adam and Eve by Alonso Cano. The bronze statues of Apostles date from 1614. In the choir are two large Baroque organs. The cathedral treasury, the finest items in which are a large silver monstrance and a number of Flemish tapestries, is now housed in the former chapterhouse in the northwest corner. From the south aisle a Gothic doorway (usually closed) gives access to the Capilla Real.
On the southeast side of the cathedral in Granada is the Sagrario, a Baroque structure built between 1705 and 1759 on the site of the town's principal mosque.
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The Renaissance Cathedral of Santa María de la Encarnación in Granada.
Exterior of the Cathedral in Granada.
Cathedral Capilla Real in Granada.
