Attractions Cathedral
Minorca Details
Although Alfonso III ordered its construction only 45 days after taking the city in 1287, it was under the reign of Juan II, in 1362, that the cathedral was finally completed. The cathedral has suffered repeated plundering and subsequent reconstructions. In the seventeenth century, the Turks burned the temple. And, during the Spanish Civil War, all of its ornaments, paintings, and jewelry were stolen or ruined.
The cathedral’s facade is of neoclassic
style and was built in 1813 by order of Bishop John. The church has a nave vault flanked by six
chapels. The main altar has a canopy 15
meters high. Beyond the altar is a
pentagonal apse, blessed by Pope Pius XII, beside which stand the choir and the
bishop’s marble throne.
The most prominent chapel is the Baroque Chapel of Encouragement (of Souls),
established in the eighteenth century.
It received the title of basilica in 1953, by Pope Pius XII.
Cathedral of Santa Maria de Ciudadela