2024 Huerta de Murcia Travel Guide: Must-see attractions, popular food, hotels, transportation routes (updated in November)

Cathedral of Murcia

Cathedral of Murcia Palacio Episcopal, Pl. del Cardenal Belluga, s/n, 30001 Murcia Surrounded by shields and doves, Arenal Street leads us to Plaza de Belluga, where the most famous monument is located: the Cathedral of Saint Mary, also known as the Cathedral of Murcia, which is the main temple and headquarters of the Diocese of Cartagena. Bishop Pedro de Sanahuja laid the first stone in 1388; at that time, no one imagined that the project would be completed four centuries later, a lengthy period that has proven the diversity of architectural styles. The temple houses 23 chapels of varying styles, from the Chapel of the Marquis of Vélez (with its splendid Gothic tracery, 1507) to one of the earliest works of the Spanish Renaissance, the Chapel of Junterones (1525); the Sacristy, inspired by Brunelleschi's Sacristy of San Lorenzo, belongs to this era. The altarpiece of the Chapel of El Socorro, the 15th-century choir stalls, and the statue of Saint Jerome carved by Salzillo are other unavoidable references. Inside the cathedral, there is a funerary urn containing the heart and entrails of the wise King Alfonso X. The arrival of this tower marked the Renaissance in Murcia. The first structure was built on top of another more austere tower, replacing the minaret of the mosque, constructed by the Florentine brothers between 1521 and 1525, adorned with Ionic capitals, gables, and niches, completed in 1645, yet it still took another 120 years to finish the third structure, the lantern on the octagonal dome, 92 meters high. However, the most beautiful and precious jewel of the entire complex is the imafronte (1736/1754), a beautiful stone altarpiece designed by the sculptor and architect Jaime Bort. Murcian builders, painters, gilders, sculptors, and assemblers of the Golden Age collaborated on a project listed as an international Baroque masterpiece. As required, the imafronte faces west, in front of the Episcopal Palace. Murcia·Huerta de Murcia