ENLARGEMENT OF . PARISH OF THE TABERNACLE. The -Cathedral of Cordoba has been a Natio- VISITOR MAP-GUIDE 8 9 BELL TOWER. From the original From a sculptural point of view, Its main attraction lies in the 13 Muslim to the current bell nal Monument since 1882. It was declared a World He- the extensive work of Almanzor did ornamental wall paintings started ENLARGEMENT OF ABD AL-RAHMAN II. tower, this element has marked the 3 not lead to any notable contribution, in 1583 by César Arbasia, an artist ritage Site by UNESCO in 1984 and in June 2014 was The original structure was retained, image of the city, rising as it does as can be seen from the who undertook this work although the bases of the columns impressively over the landscape. It has given the honour of being classified as a Site of Outs- of the arches which do not alternate focussing on the artistic fashions were removed. The main contribution been added to and remodelled by between stone and brick but have in Italy at that time. Its iconogra- tanding Universal Value, recognising that the religious from this phase is eleven capitals various architects and this gives it the instead been faked through painting. phy focuses on the martyrs of the worked using a boring technique and unique appearance that it has today. use of the temple has guaranteed the preservation of He also extended the patio, to which city, with the highlight being the made by local craftsmen. . Instead of being a mere 6 he added an underground cistern. Holy Supper of the TRANSEPT. This is a space that, as the monument. niche to show the direction of 10 With Almanzor the building lost the presbytery. a true feat of engineering, THE ORIGINAL MAIN CHAPEL. prayer this became a small octagonal 4 axis around which it was structured, provides us with a perfect dialogue ORIGINAL MOSQUE OF ABD VILLAVICIOSA CHAPEL. The room covered by a scallop shell 9 1 acquiring the quality of an infinite between Gothic, Renaissance and The Cathedral Chapter of Cordoba, sensitive to the AL-RAHMAN I. The floor plan of change to Christian worship led to . The ornamental work of the construction and giving the site Mannerism art. The transept was the original mosque was based the construction of a large Gothic mosaics comes from the Byzantine cultural heritage and aware of the importance of the an enveloping feeling. established as an immense skylight on a basilica model and followed nave with a basilica floor plan, which tradition, which arrived through the G to inundate the building with light WE ALSO RECOMMEND legacy received, has since 1236 focussed its efforts on the example of in originally boasted ornate walls. craftsmen sent by Emperor Nicepho- and adds a beautiful complexity and the al-Aqsa What stands out here is the roof, rus II. Its expressive force lies in the A Chapel of Nuestra Señora de la Concepción. preserving and raising awareness about the temple, E to the extraordinary mosque in . The reuse where transverse arches were used plant motif bays and the richness of 8 F B Painted altarpiece of the Santa Cena by Pablo de Céspedes. D building. which has allowed this monument to survive into mo- of materials gives it a noticeable to support a framework of gabled the mosaics which cover both the H 6 C Exhibition area for the old Basilica of San Vincente. dern times. Hellenistic, Roman and Visigoth wooden coffers, on which plant mihrab and the adjoining doors to D Chapel of Santa Teresa and Tesoro Catedralicio. feel. Its originality lies in the motifs alternate with inscriptions in the Treasury and the Sabat. E Painted altar of the Encarnación by Pedro de Cordoba. I 5 construction which is based on Latin and Greek. 10 7 F Anonymous wall painting of Bautismo de Cristo. the superposition of a double G Stonemasons' marks from the enlargement of Almanzor. arch which allows for higher 11 H Original eastern wall from the enlargement of Al-Hakam II. ceilings and which has deter- 4 C I Main Altarpiece, with paintings by Antonio Palomino. mined the constructive evolution 3 B J Altarpiece from the chapel of Nuestra Señora del Rosario, with K J of the building and influenced the paintings by Antonio del Castillo. history of its architecture. K Beams from the original roofing. Open every day of the year 12 1 2 From March to October A Monday to Saturday Construction Module. 10am – 7pm Being influenced by the aqueducts 5 ENLARGEMENT OF AL-HAKAM II. 7 Sundays and religious holidays and triumphal arches of ancient 6 The involvement of Al-Hakam II 8.30am – 11.30am and 3pm – 7pm Rome, the space is configured in the Aljama led, while respecting through a framework of columns the original model, to the enrich- From November to February 13 on which sits a system of superim- 5 ment of its appearance, making Monday to Saturday posed double arches. This creative 4 MONUMENTAL SITE it more innovative and lavish in 3 10am – 6pm solution, bringing together various ARCHAEOLOGICAL AREA OF SAN style. Stylised plant motifs, marble 2 c Sundays and religious holidays 2 architectural elements, is not only THE MOSQUE-CATHEDRAL VICENTE. Under the Mosque-Ca- and mosaics were just some of the 8.30am – 11.30am and 3pm – 6pm audacious and highly individual, thedral of Cordoba is the archaeolog- materials used for the maqsurah and but also creates a noticeable feel- ical evidence of the existence of the the mihrab to create one of the most 1 b OF CORDOBA C/ Cardenal Herrero, 1 ing of transparency, gracefulness Basilica of San Vicente. The pieces beautiful and imaginative structures 14003 Cordoba (). CHOIR STALLS. In 1748, the ORANGE TREE COURTYARD. and lightness. recovered during its excavation are in the world of architecture. The 11 12 Tel.: (0034) 957 470 512 Chapter commissioned Pedro The former Muslim ablutions a now on display in the San Vicente space is enhanced by the construc- ROYAL CHAPEL. The power and Original Mosque www.catedraldecordoba.es 7 Duque Cornejo with the sculpting of patio made way for the Christian exhibition area. tion of four skylights, the first in the religiousness of the Spanish Abd al-Rahman I 1. Column: 3. Modillion of rolls [email protected] the choir stalls. He created a superb patio. Its current appearance is due a. Base 4. Pilaster These include a fragment of a entrance to this enlargement and the Monarchy can also be seen in this b. Shaft 5.  Follow us on Facebook 1st enlargement space both in terms of the quality of to the involvement of Bishop Fran- Paleo-Christian sarcophagus, a mar- other three preceding the mihrab. building. It was King Enrique II who, c. Capital 6. Abd al-Rahman II its execution and its iconographic cisco Reinoso, who added the rows 2. Cyma 7. Semi-circular arch ble plaque with the chi-rho (a mono- Their function is to provide more in the year 1371, ordered the significance. He also created the of orange trees as a continuation of gram of chi (Χ) and rho (Ρ) as the first light and to display a rectangular construction of the Royal Chapel as 2nd enlargement Episcopal See that presides over the the columns in the prayer hall. two letters of Greek Khristos Christ) floor plan covered by a corbel vault the burial place of Alfonso XI and Al-Hakam II premises with its particularly C/ Cardenal Herrero, 1 www.catedraldecordoba.es and the remains of a Visigoth font. of intersecting arches. Fernando IV. This area, which cannot 3rd enlargement magnificent “Ascension of Christ”. 14003 Cordoba (Spain) [email protected] be visited today, is covered by a vault Almanzor Tel.: (0034) 957 470 512  Follow us on Facebook of crossed arches, decorated with beautiful honeycomb work. Current state of the monument with the transept by Hernán Ruiz I The Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba is his space has been home to a collection of build- PUERTA DEL SABAT (DOOR OF THE SABAT) one of the most exceptional monuments ings among which was the T This door led to a raised passageway Visigoth Basilica of San Vicente that connected the maqsurah with the (mid-sixth century), which became in the world, a testimony to the ancient Umayyad palace. Its function was to the city's main Christian temple. allow the caliph to go and pray. alliance of art and faith. With the arrival of the the area was divided and used by both Mosque of Abd al-Rahman I Enlargement of Abd al-Rahman II Enlargement of Al-Hakam II Enlargement of Almanzor Royal Chapel communities. and Gothic Nave Its , with Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine touches, comes together with Christian archi- Abd al-Rahman I built the original Much later, in the year 951, the The final of the enlargements It was Bishop Alonso Manrique tecture to create one of the most beautiful examples of Mosque (786-788) in response to caliph Abd al-Rahman III began (991) was a demonstration of power who ordered the building of the the growing population. Its floor construction of a new minaret. This by Almanzor, of the caliph transept (1523-1606). The con- PUERTA DE SANTA CATALINA its kind. Inside, among an impressive array of columns, plan includes eleven naves standing reached the height of 40 metres Hisham II. In this phase the site was struction process was begun by (DOOR OF SAINT CATHERINE) arches and , we come across splendid works of perpendicular to the wall, with and inspired the in the extended towards the east by add- Hernán Ruiz I in an imaginative way, Its current appearance is the result the central one being higher and Mosques in and Marrakesh. ing eight new naves. The end result combining the caliphal naves with art which bear witness to the passage of the centuries. of the work of Hernán Ruiz II in the wider than the side ones. Unlike is a rectangular space characterised the transept in the form of lateral PUERTA DE SAN SEBASTIÁN sixteenth century. other Muslim oratories, the qibla The Umayyad saw the by its proportions. naves. Other architects took over (DOOR OF SAINT SEBASTIAN) Those who admired the beauty of what was the great wall is not pointing towards , continuation of the period of political, the work after his death, including This contains the oldest remains of of the West made sure that they looked but instead faces south. social and cultural splendour which With the conquest of Cordoba in his son Hernán Ruiz II and Juan de Muslim architectural decoration in Spain led to the city replacing Damascus 1236 the Aljama was consecrated Ochoa. From the outside, the tran- BELL TOWER and the first inscription on the after it. Today the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba shows The period of prosperity experi- in terms of importance. Al-Hakam II as a Catholic church, installing the sept's brickwork gives the building The remains of the old minaret of Abd al-Rahman building, dating back to the year 855. the world the greatness of its history, which began with enced under the government of carried out the second enlargement main altar in the former skylight an appearance of verticality which III are now integrated into the tower, onto which Abd al-Rahman II led to the first (962-966), the most creative of all. of Al-Hakam II. In 1489 adaptation contrasts with the horizontal sensa- Hernán Ruiz III added the belfry. a Visigoth basilica, flowed into Caliphate splendour, and PUERTA DE LAS PALMAS (DOOR OF THE PALMS) enlargement (833-848). The prayer Twelve new south-facing sections works were carried out to reflect tion provided by the Mosque. culminated with Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque art. In 1533 Hernán Ruiz I remodelled this, adding hall was extended with the addition were added and the building acquired the new religion with the construc- an upper plateresque section. of eight south-facing naves. an elongated floor plan which tends tion of a Main Chapel. Once the to emphasise the mihrab and maqsu- Transept was completed in 1607 You are not looking at a precious of the past, nor are PUERTA DEL PERDÓN (DOOR OF FORGIVENESS) rah as special focusses of attention. this space became known as the PATIO DE LOS NARANJOS (ORANGE TREE COURTYARD) you in just another museum. You are entering a sacred This was completed in 1377. It has been the Villaviciosa Chapel. This acquired its current form at the end of the sixteenth main point of entry to the site from the start place that is open to the entire world. The whole mon- century, following the concept of a garden filled with and it shows influences from different eras. umental site of the old Mosque was first consecrated as palm, cypress and orange trees. the Cathedral of Santa Maria in the year 1146 and defin- itively in 1236. Since then, and without missing a single TIMELINE Historic milestones for the monument General historic-artistic milestones 1593 1st construction phase 1748 Pedro Duque Cornejo 1931-1936 Research activity 1984 Declared a “World Heritage day, the Chapter has held the Holy Mass for the Christian for the Cathedral tower. Hernán Ruiz III begins the choir stalls by Félix Hernández Site” by UNESCO community in this beautiful and magnificent temple. Mid-6th century 951-952 Minaret. 1597 Current form of the Orange 1816 Patricio Furriel 1991 Restoration Visigoth Basilica of San Vicente Abd al-Rahman III Tree Courtyard. Bishop Reinoso restores the mihrab of the Bell Tower

To better understand this, you must breathe in the air of 786-788 Original Aljama 962-966 2nd Enlargement 1146 1st dedication as a 1489 Gothic nave. 1599-1607 Dome of the transept 1879-1923 Restoration work 2006-2009 Restoration spirituality evoked by its divine light, listen to the story of Mosque of Abd al-Rahman I of Al-Hakam II Catholic temple Bishop Íñigo Manrique and choir vault. Juan de Ochoa by Velázquez Bosco of the transept and choir its artwork, read the reliefs of its choir stalls and admire 833-848 1st enlargement 991-994 3rd Enlargement 1236 2nd dedication as a 1371 Enrique II completes 1523 Work on the 1618 Start of work on 1882 Declared a “Historical- 2014 Declared a “Site of the elegance of its two-coloured arches. On discovering HISTORIC MILESTONES of Abd al-Rahman II of Almanzor Catholic temple the Royal Chapel Transept. Hernán Ruiz I the Main Altarpiece Artistic National Monument” Outstanding Universal Value” the unique beauty of the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordo- CHRISTIAN PERIOD MUSLIM PERIOD CHRISTIAN PERIOD ba, you will understand that it is a living building, one 8th century th th th th th th th th th th th th st that has been transformed by men from different cul- 9 century 10 century 11 century 12 century 13 century 14 century 15 century 16 century 17 century 18 century 19 century 20 century 21 century 691 Dome 756 Cordoba, independent emirate 936 Construction 1031 Dissolution of the 1237 Work begins 1372 Completion of the 1755 Lisbon earthquake 1882 Work begins tures and religions throughout history. As a result it will of the Rock under Abd al-Rahman I of Medina Azahara Caliphate of Cordoba on the Alhambra Tower of Pisa on the Sagrada Familia in be etched in your heart that this temple is not enclosed 711 Arrival of the Muslims 836 Great Mosque 929 Proclamation of the 1236 Fernando III 1492 Discovery of America 1607 Start of construction on the façade of within its walls, but instead invites you to contemplate on the peninsula of Kairouan Caliphate of Cordoba conquers Cordoba Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City the mystery of that which is holy. MILESTONES RELATED 532 Basilica of of Constantinople