This richly ornate Renaissance cathedral with its spectacular altar is acclaimed
for its beautiful facade and gold-and-white interior. It was begun in 1521 and
completed in 1714. The chief attraction inside the cathedral is the Capilla Mayor, a rotunda circled by an
ambulatory. Capilla Mayor is surmounted by a 150 foot dome. The graceful
rotunda has two architectural layers, the upper one adorned by art by Alonso
Cano depicting the life of the Madonna along with stunning stained glass that
dates from the 1500s. At the entrance to the rotunda is a pair of panels, one
depicting Ferdinand and Isabella in prayer, the other depicting Adam and Eve. Several
glittering side chapels also decorate the cathedral. The carved and gilded
Capilla de Nuestra Señora de la Antigua, also known as
the Capilla Dorada on the north wallis especially grand. Before leaving the
area, and once outside, note the Puerta del Perdón, a notably elaborate side
entrance facing north on Calle de la Cárcel.
Museo Arqueológico y Etnológico
The museum is housed in a beautiful Renaissance mansion with an impressive
plateresque façade called the Casa de Castril. Inside, one will see artifacts
from around the province belonging to people who have settled here from the
Paleolithic period through to the Moorish occupation. Rooms one and two
describe the Paleolithic and Neolithic era. Rooms three and four concentrate on
Iberian and pre-Roman settlements. Room five is the Roman section. Room six has
Visigoth remains and room seven shows how advanced the Moorish culture was here
in Spain.
El Bañuelo
This 11th-century public bathhouse
is one of the best preserved buildings of the period. It's been carefully
restored and still gives one a feel of what it must have been like nearly 1000
years ago. During the Moorish period there were many bathhouses in Granada. Bathing is sacred to Muslims and is required before
prayer. It also had a social as well as a religious function. People went to
relax and socialize, get a massage and beauty treatments. The Romans were
probably here first, using the water from the adjacent River Darro, and one can
still see Roman and Visigoth capitals supporting the existing structure.