Granada Cathedral of the Incarnation and Alonso Cano's Facade

Why is it significant?

Step into the spacious stone forum of Plaza de las Pasiegas and gaze upward at the colossal western facade of the Santa Iglesia Catedral Metropolitana de la Encarnación, one of the supreme masterpieces of the Spanish Renaissance.

Key Facts

Open the walk

Step into the spacious stone forum of Plaza de las Pasiegas and gaze upward at the colossal western facade of the Santa Iglesia Catedral Metropolitana de la Encarnación, one of the supreme masterpieces of the Spanish Renaissance. Begun in 1523 on the site of Granada's historic Great Mosque, the cathedral was envisioned by Emperor Charles the Fifth as a monumental imperial pantheon celebrating the triumph of Christianity in Spain. The staggering tripartite facade, designed in 1667 by Granada's genius native artist Alonso Cano, features three colossal recessed arches framed by Corinthian pilasters and dramatic baroque reliefs. The cathedral treasury preserves priceless sacred treasures, including Flemish liturgical tapestries, illuminated choir books, and an exquisite silver processional monstrance carried through the streets during the annual Corpus Christi festivities.

Enter the vast five-aisled interior and experience the overwhelming sensation of luminous architectural grandeur: soaring white fluted pillars rising over forty meters support radiant quadripartite vaults, creating a sense of infinite light and geometric perfection. Walk to the circular Capilla Mayor, an architectural wonder designed by master architect Diego de Siloé in 1528, where two tiers of Corinthian columns encircle a radiant dome bathed in golden light from high stained-glass windows, decorated with colossal paintings by Alonso Cano.

Siloé audaciously abandoned the original Gothic blueprints of Enrique Egas to create the first purely Renaissance cathedral in Spain, harmonizing classical Roman orders with the spiritual symbolism of the Christian liturgy. The cathedral was originally planned to feature two towering eighty-meter bell towers, but only one tower was partially completed to a height of fifty-seven meters due to unstable subsoil conditions.

Stand between the massive twin baroque organs in the central nave: look up at the intricate gilded wood carvings of angels playing trumpets and violins.

Walk northwest along Calle San Jerónimo toward the peaceful cloister walls of the Royal Monastery of San Jerónimo.