Tourist Attraction in Granada:
Catedral de la Encarnación

The cathedral of the Incarnation (Catedral de la Encarnación) is the mother church of the archdiocese of the same name and the main Catholic temple of the city of Granada. The complex, which includes the Royal Chapel, the mausoleum of the Catholic kings, is one of the major works of the Spanish Renaissance. Following the reconquest of the city in 1492, the Catholic Kings wanted to undertake a city urbanization designed to celebrate the royal and Catholic victory. Fulham was the Alhambra, seen as a royal palace, and in the center, the Royal Chapel and Cathedral complex on the site of the great mosque of Nasride in Granada, to sign the event. The first construction project was presented in 1505-06 by the architect Enrique Egas, already engaged in the construction of the Royal Chapel. Under the supervision of Cardinal Cisneros (1436-1517), confessor of the queen, Egas, very archaic and still linked to Gothic traditions, he designed a Gothic-style building inspired by the Toledo cathedral, divided into five naves and polygonal chorus. The construction of the temple began in 1510, but progressed very slowly since the funding gave priority to the realization of the Royal Chapel, completed in 1521. Only in 1519 the City Council expropriated the land necessary for the construction of the work and at the beginning of 1523 only the foundations had been excavated. On March 25, 1523, Archbishop Antonio de Rojas Manrique, the first successor to Hernando, laid the first stone of the cathedral. Since 1526 Emperor Carlo V (or King Charles I of Spain), visiting Granada, became patron of the cathedral, but the first Egas project was abandoned in favor of another, more ambitious and innovative Renaissance style presented by architect Diego De Siloé. The work began in 1528, and on 17 August 1560, when the presbytery was made up of the deambulatory choir with dome, it was officially consecrated. In 1563, the year of De Siloe's death, the architect had set the base of the aisle pillars, the outer walls, the base of the tower, and the pillars of the facade. However, the circumstances are not favorable: on the one hand, the Moriscos Revolt in 1568 with their deportation provokes an economic crisis; on the other, the loss of importance of Granada in the interest of the Crown. Indeed between 1571 and 1575, with the exception of some specific maintenance works, there is virtually no significant construction activity. During the thirteen years - including the four inactivity - Maeda could only finish the first two levels of the tower and continue the north transept to the large shed bare of Perdón. But for the bell tower you have to change the project. In fact, in 1590, we found out the fragility of the foundations and the original design with a two-towers tower 80 meters high should be abandoned. There will be only one bell tower that will remain 57 meters high. In 1636 Miguel Guerrero was named a new master carpenter of the cathedral. It will end all the walls of the chapels and the vaults of the building. From 1665 Alonso Cano continues the work, ends the facade by modifying the initial project. The building then takes on a more Baroque appearance. In 1667, Cano died and the direction of the yard went to Melchor de Aguirre, which would complete the cathedral in July 1703. Adjacent to the cathedral, it keeps in its crypt the remains of the Catholic Kings Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, of Giovanna la Pazza (doña Juana la Loca), Filippo il Bello and the infant Miguel. Noteworthy is the retablo that adorns the Cappella Maggiore, opera of 1522 performed by the bourgeois. Depicts Granada's Below, Bottom, and Passion Episodes up. In the sacristy is located the museum of the Royal Chapel rich in works of art of inestimable value.

Attractions in Granada