Santa Maria Murcia

Murcia's cathedral, dating from the 14th to 18th centuries, stands out in a city crammed with exuberant baroque architecture. If ever a building captured the spirit of the place, Santa Maria, with its ebullient and lavish decoration and sense of religious fervour, surely does.

The cathedral's south side retains its Gothic facade, but the main west front was rebuilt after a flood in 1735. Designed by Jaime Bort, this feast of curves and swooping detail, only slightly restrained by its soaring Corinthian columns, is liberally dotted with statues of gesticulating saints, their robes tossed by some celestial wind. The interior, retaining signs of its Gothic origin, is an extravagant example of florid plateresque. The high point is the Capilla de los Velez, completed in 1507 and designed as a funeral chapel for a powerful local family. With its lovely screen and rich vaulting this must be one of Spain's finest examples of Hispano Gothic architecture. Other highlights include an urn containing the heart of 13th century Alfonso the Wise in the Capilla Mayor and a 600kg gold and silver processional monstrance in the cathedral's museum. The choir contains a Christ by Murcia's famous 18^th century resident, Francisco Salzillo. He specialized in realistic polychrome wooden figures to be used in Holy Week processions; his work can be seen at the Museo Salzillo A ramp and stairway leads up the 98m 18th century tower, which has great views.