•  Cathedral Menorca

    Cathedral Menorca

    Gothic icon of the former capital of the island

  •  Cathedral Menorca

    Cathedral Menorca

    Gothic icon of the former capital of the island

  •  Cathedral Menorca

    Cathedral Menorca

    Gothic icon of the former capital of the island

Cathedral Menorca

Minorca cathedral is built in Gothic style with a Neoclassical facade. It was built over an ancient Arab mosque.

Gothic church founded in honour of Saint Mary by King Alfonso III following the conquest of Minorca by the Catalan-Aragonese troops in 1287. It is an austere structure with a single, very wide (14.5 m) nave, erected over the ancient Arab mosque whose minaret is the base for the current tower. It follows the model of Catalan Gothic. 

The ceiling is a rib vault with six aisles that reaches up to 23 metres in height. The sections are separated by secondary arches topped by a sculpted circular keystone. It has a total of 22 chapels, separated by trefoil pilasters that are topped by capitals with floral ornamentation.

In 1558, it had to be rebuilt after a Turkish raid and the subsequent collapse of part of the vault, so some of the side chapels were given a greater depth. It was again refurbished during the 19th century and a Neoclassical façade was built, among other things, hiding the old Gothic portal. A modern restoration has revealed some of the details of this old Gothic façade. The temple was turned into a cathedral in 1795, when Minorca obtained its own bishopric.

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