Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady of Valencia | |
---|---|
Basic information | |
Location | Valencia, Spain |
Geographic coordinates | 39°28′33″N 0°22′30″W / 39.47583°N 0.37500°WCoordinates: 39°28′33″N 0°22′30″W / 39.47583°N 0.37500°W |
Affiliation | Roman Catholic Church |
Country | Spain |
Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Cathedral, minor basilica |
Website | www |
Architectural description | |
Architectural type | church |
Architectural style | Valencian Gothic |
Groundbreaking | 22 June 1262 |
The Metropolitan Cathedral–Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady of Valencia (Spanish: Iglesia Catedral-Basílica Metropolitana de la Asunción de Nuestra Señora de Valencia, Valencian: Església Catedral-Basílica Metropolitana de l'Assumpció de la Nostra Senyora de València), alternatively known as Saint Mary's Cathedral or Valencia Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic parish church in Valencia, Spain.
The cathedral was consecrated in 1238 by the first bishop of Valencia after the Reconquista, Pere d'Albalat, Archbishop of Tarragona, and was dedicated by order of James I the Conqueror to Saint Mary. It was built over the site of the former Visigothic cathedral, which under the Moors had been turned into a mosque. The Valencian Gothic is the predominant architectural style of the cathedral, although it also contains Romanesque, French Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Neo-Classical elements.
The cathedral contains numerous 15th-century paintings, some by local artists (such as Jacomart), others by artists from Rome engaged by the Valencian Pope Alexander VI who, when still a cardinal, made the request to elevate the Valencian See to the rank of metropolitan see, a category granted by Pope Innocent VIII in 1492.