Granada Cathedral, or the Cathedral of the Incarnation ( es, Catedral de Granada, Santa Iglesia Catedral Metropolitana de la Encarnación de Granada) is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

church in the city of Granada, capital of the province of the same name in the Autonomous Region of

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. The cathedral is the seat of the

Archdiocese of Granada The archdiocese of Granada ( la, archidioecesis Granatensis) is an ecclesiastical province of the Catholic Church in Spain.

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

History

Unlike most cathedrals in Spain, construction was not begun until the sixteenth century in 1518 in the centre of the old Muslim Medina, after acquisition of the Nasrid kingdom of Granada from its Muslim rulers in 1492. While its earliest plans had Gothic designs, such as are evident in the

Royal Chapel of Granada The Royal Chapel of Granada ( es, Capilla Real de Granada) is an Isabelline style building, constructed between 1505 and 1517, and originally integrated in the complex of the neighbouring Granada Cathedral. It is the burial place of the Spanish ...

by Enrique Egas, most of the church's construction occurred when the

Spanish Renaissance The Spanish Renaissance was a movement in Spain, emerging from the Italian Renaissance in Italy during the 14th century, that spread to Spain during the 15th and 16th centuries. This new focus in art, literature, quotes and science inspired ...

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

Diego de Siloé Diego Siloe (anglicized) or Diego de Siloé (c. 1495–1563) was a Spanish Renaissance architect and sculptor, progenitor of the Granadan school of sculpture. He developed the majority of his work in Andalusia. Biography Siloe was most likely t ...

who worked for nearly four decades on the structure from ground to cornice, planning the triforium and five naves instead of the usual three. Most unusually, he created a circular capilla mayor (principal chapel) rather than a semicircular

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...

, perhaps inspired by Italian ideas for circular 'perfect buildings' (e.g., in Alberti's works). Within its structure the cathedral combines other of the

Vitruvian orders of architecture A module (Latin ''modulus'', a measure) is a term that was in use among Roman architects, corresponding to the semidiameter of the column at its base. The term was first set forth by Vitruvius (book iv.3), and was employed by architects in the I ...

. 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. 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. The cathedral had been intended as the royal mausoleum by

Charles I of Spain Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) fro ...

, but Philip II of Spain moved the site for his father's and subsequent kings' tombs to

El Escorial El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial ( es, Monasterio y Sitio de El Escorial en Madrid), or Monasterio del Escorial (), is a historical residence of the King of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, u ...

outside of Madrid. The main chapel contains two kneeling effigies of the Catholic King and Queen,

Isabel Isabel is a female name of Spanish origin. Isabelle is a name that is similar, but it is of French origin. It originates as the medieval Spanish form of '' Elisabeth'' (ultimately Hebrew ''Elisheva''), Arising in the 12th century, it became popul ...

and

Ferdinand Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...

by Pedro de Mena y Medrano. The busts of Adam and Eve were made by

Alonso Cano Alonso Cano Almansa or Alonzo Cano (19 March 16013 September 1667) was a Spanish painter, architect, and sculptor born in Granada.El Greco, Jusepe de Ribera and Alonso Cano.

Features

Granada's cathedral has a rectangular base due to its five

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

s 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. The main chapel consists of a series of Corinthian columns on which capitals is the entablature and, over it, the

vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosure ...

, which houses a series of delicate stained glass windows. The facade consists of a framed structure in the form of a

triumphal arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, cro ...

with portals and canvas. It consists of three pillars crowned by semicircular arches supported on pilasters, similar to San Andrés de Mantua of

Leon Battista Alberti Leon Battista Alberti (; 14 February 1404 – 25 April 1472) was an Italian Renaissance humanist author, artist, architect, poet, priest, linguist, philosopher, and cryptographer; he epitomised the nature of those identified now as polymaths. H ...

. 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. The sacrarium, raised between 1706 and 1759, follows the classic proportions of the whole, keeping the multiple columns of the

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building wi ...

the shapes of the compound of Siloam.

References

External links

Website of Granada Cathedral with relevant information

Information about Granada Cathedral on a website devoted monuments of Granada, Spain

''Del arte árabe en España''
A nook By Rafael Contreras y Muñoz dealing with Arabs and Spanish art and architecture, pages 1–7.

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20141016183134/http://www.alhambra.info/alhambra_guia_granada/guia_granada_monumental_historia_en.asp?monumento=Catedral History of the monuments of Granada in English
Detailed maps of Granada

Guide to Granada Cathedral and the city of Granada
{{Authority control Roman Catholic churches completed in 1710 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Spain Granada Renaissance architecture in Granada Buildings and structures in Granada Former mosques in Spain Conversion of non-Christian religious buildings and structures into churches Roman Catholic churches in Granada 1561 establishments in Spain Church buildings with domes Buildings converted to Catholic church buildings