Spain's cathedrals are one of the best ways for the traveller to appreciate the multiple styles and flavours of Spanish culture.
Spain’s cathedrals are as varied as its culture; from pure Gothic style to Moorish arabesques, from Romanesque grandeur to high Baroque theatre. Here’s a selection of the best for the traveller to Spain.
- Leon cathedral probably shouldn't be in Spain at all – it’s a pure French Gothic cathedral, the equal of Amiens or Reims with its elegant, high nave. Its twin-towered west façade, with three gabled porches full of sculpture, is typically French, as is the eastern apse with its radiating chapels. Its great glory is the fine stained glass from the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries, much of which is currently being restored.
- Burgos is another fine Gothic cathedral, and here again, foreign architects were involved – the first master was French, and it was a German mason who added the beautiful openwork spires. Fans of later, flamboyant Gothic should head straight for the lovely octagonal Constable’s chapel, filled with ornament.
- Seville cathedral was built on the site of the Great Mosque of Seville, and its size and breadth reflects the expansiveness of the original mosque. It’s the largest building the Gothic style ever produced, an incredible huge, but dimly lit space. The Giralda tower and the courtyard preserve parts of the original mosque.
- Granada cathedral brings us to the Renaissance, but in size and spaciousness it’s the equal of Seville. Started by Diego de Siloé, it has an unusual circular choir, perhaps inspired by Italian designs for ‘perfect’ buildings. Later, Alonso Cano designed the façade with three huge arches, creating a dramatic frontispiece for the church.
- Sometimes one cathedral’s not enough. Salamanca has two. The old cathedral is a lovely romanesque work, which could fit four or five times over into the new cathedral next door. The new church was built in the sixteenth century and is one of the latest works of the Gothic style in Spain. Recent restoration of the fine carvings outside inserted an astronaut and Iberian lynx to accompany the older sculptures.
- Toledo’s Gothic cathedral is, like Burgos and Leon, inspired by the French Gothic. But it has a surprise – at the east end, the Gothic vaults have been carved away to admit light to a baroque extravaganza, the Trasparente. Think of what Bernini did with the east end of St Peter’s, Rome – this is an equally good piece of baroque theatre.
- Santiago de Compostela was the centre of one of medieval Europe’s main pilgrimages, with the shrine of St James (Santiago in Spanish). Its ornament-encrusted baroque exterior is deceptive; inside, it’s a pure Romanesque basilica. The Portico de la Gloria, carved with figures of the Elders of the Apocalypse all playing musical instruments, is a Romanesque masterpiece. Don't miss Botafumeiro – the biggest censer in the world, which when in use swings almost as high as the roof of the transept.
- If it’s high Baroque you’re looking for, Cadiz cathedral is a must. In fact, since it wasn't completed for over a hundred years, the baroque here is mixed with rococo and even neoclassical work – fun for the architectural detective! The interior is impressive, particularly the crypt where composer Manuel de Falla is buried.
- Palma de Mallorca’s cathedral is instantly memorable for its corrugated Gothic walls and spiky pinnacles. The interior is an impressively high space in the rather bare southern Gothic style, with aisles almost as high as the nave. If you like Gaudì, you’ll be interested to see his furnishings – particularly the baldachino over the altar.
- Cordoba cathedral is a unique reminder of Spain’s multi-faith past. It started life as the Great Mosque of Cordoba over a thousand years ago, when the Arabs ruled most of Spain. Though a Gothic and Renaissance church was inserted into the middle of the structure, the multiple aisles of the mosque and its forest of columns remain almost intact. Mosaicists were imported from Byzantium to create the beautiful floral patterns of the mihrab, the niche facing Mecca, and some of the original plasterwork can still be seen.
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