The Cathedral of the Encarnación of Almería was built in the 16th century with fortress design by order of Fray Diego Fernández de Villalá n, bishop of Almería, after the earthquake that occurred in the year 1522 since the previous Cathedral, located on the site of the current church of San Juan, It was completely razed. The temple was raised It is between late Gothic and Renaissance styles although over the centuries it has undergonebaroque and neoclassical additions. The structure reminds us of a fortress Its innumerable towers, battlements and buttresses were built as its objective was to defend the population against the attacks of pirates and rebellious Moors. In the following centuries it was remodeled. The Main Chapel was built, the rear choir, the tabernacle, the choir, the Chapter House, some stairs and bars were built, and the floor was paved. the entire complex with Macael marbles. Before the Civil War it was declared a Historical-Artistic Monument and during the war it was used as a refuge for the population. Today, it has the Diocesan Museum inside the towers.
This temple is made up of three naves with a flat roof and three chapels at the head with an ambulatory. The baroque Main Chapel was remodeled by < strong>Ventura Rodríguez in the 18th century and this one precedes another dedicated to the Holy Christ - an image from 1940 carved by Jesús de Perceval that replaced old-fashioned from the 16th century - in which the alabaster tomb of Fray Diego Fernández de Villalán de Juan de Orea is located. On the exterior wall of this chapel is the so-called Sun of Portocarrero, symbol of the city, a bas-relief that represents an anthropomorphic sun adorned with ribbons. The second chapel is that of La Piedad and houses part of the old Alonso Cano altarpiece. The third chapel of the ambulatory is dedicated to San Indalecio, but today we see a reconstruction of the original one made by Juan de Orea in the 16th century.
Other places of interest within the cathedral are the choir located in front of the High Altar with a walnut stall made between the years 1558 and 1561 with two baroque organs, the red marble backroom designed; ado by Ventura Rodríguez and the Chapels of San Ildefonso, San Lorenzo, Nuestra Señora del Carmen, the Tabernacle, theSacristy, the Chapter House and the Cloister. strong> On the outside, the main Renaissance doorway stands out, built in the 16th century by Juan de Orea, which symbolizes the door to heaven with allusions to Hercules and the virtue of the prince and the shield of Bishop Villalá ;n, placed in the center of a divided pediment and topped by the great imperial shield of Charles V. The second side door is the so-called “de los Perdones”, similar to the previous one but smaller in size and with the shield of King Felipe II.
Tuesday to Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and from 4:00 p.m.: 00 to 19:00.
Other nearby places of interest are the Royal Hospital of Santa María Magdalena, the Guitar Museum and the Andalusian Photography Center. a.