Orihuela Cathedral (''Catedral de Orihuela'') is the main

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 Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

Orihuela Orihuela (; ca-valencia, Oriola ) is a city and municipality located at the feet of the Sierra de Orihuela mountains in the province of Alicante, Spain. The city of Orihuela had a population of 33,943 inhabitants at the beginning of 2013. The mu ...

Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wi ...

, southern

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 ...

History

It was built above a pre-existing Muslim mosque as a simple parish church and was later converted into main church by order of King

Alfonso X of Castile Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, es, el Sabio; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, León and Galicia from 30 May 1252 until his death in 1284. During the election of 1257, a dissident faction chose him to be king of Ger ...

in 1281. In 1413, pope Benedict XIII elevated it to the rank of collegiate, until it became a cathedral in 1510. Portada anunciación, catedral de orihuela

Portada anunciación, catedral de orihuela

Construction was begun in the late 13th century in

Valencian Gothic Valencian Gothic is an architectural style. It occurred under the Kingdom of Valencia between the 13th and 15th centuries, which places it at the end of the European Gothic period and at the beginning of the Renaissance. The term "Valencian G ...

style, with a Latin cross plan including a nave and two aisles, an

ambulatory The ambulatory ( la, ambulatorium, ‘walking place’) is the covered passage around a cloister or the processional way around the east end of a cathedral or large church and behind the high altar. The first ambulatory was in France in the 11th ...

and chapels within

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral ( ...

es. The crossing, the late-

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

great

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

, and the ambulatory are 15th century-early 16th century additions, including the removal of two pillars of the nave to obtain a taller vault at the crossing, after a design by

Pere Compte Pere Comte (also spelled Pere Compte; died 1506) was a Spanish architect from Girona. He was one of the main Gothic architects of the Aragonese court of the period, and in particular in Valencia, where he directed the construction of numerous pal ...

. The interior receives little light due to the small size of the windows. There are three entrances: the '' Puerta de las Cadenas'' (Portal of the Chains, 14th century) is in Islamic style, the '' Puerta de Loreto'' (mid-15th century) is Gothic, and Gate of the Annunciation (at the north, built in 1588 by Juan Inglés), in

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

-style triumphal arch-shape. Other Renaissance elements include the stalls and the grills of the choir, and the cloister (originally from 1377, but rebuilt until 1560). The oldest part is the bell tower, which dates from late 12th-mid 14th centuries. It has four floors covered by

groin vault A groin vault or groined vault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or cross vault) is produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults. Honour, H. and J. Fleming, (2009) ''A World History of Art''. 7th edn. London: Lau ...

s. Annexed to the church is a museum of Sacred Art, housing works by Diego Velázquez ('' Temptation of St. Thomas''),

Vicente López Portaña Vicente López Portaña, OIC (; September 19, 1772July 22, 1850) was a Spanish painter, considered one of the best portrait painters of his time. Early life Vicente López Portaña was born in Valencia on September 19, 1772. His parents wer ...

José de Ribera Jusepe de Ribera (1591 – 1652) was a painter and printmaker, who along with Francisco de Zurbarán, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, and the singular Diego Velázquez, are regarded as the major artists of Spanish Baroque painting. Referring ...

, Juan de Juanes,

Francisco Salzillo Francisco Salzillo y Alcaraz (12 May 1707 – 2 March 1783Malgares Guerrero, José Antonio. XXII Jornadas de Patrimonio Cultural de la Región de Murcia (Spanish). 2011, p. 418. ) was a Spanish sculptor. He is the most representative Spanish ...

and other artists. The large organ is from the Baroque renovation, and was realized in 1733 by

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

n craftsmen.

Sources

* {{Authority control 13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Spain Roman Catholic cathedrals in the Valencian Community Gothic architecture in the Valencian Community Renaissance architecture in the Valencian Community Baroque architecture in the Valencian Community Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Province of Alicante