Malaga Cathedral

In 1487 the Catholic Kings dedicated the Cathedral of Malaga in a building that was a mosque. In 1528 construction was started on the present Cathedral and it became known as the Cathedral of the Encarnacion, because it was dedicated to the Virgen de la Encarnacion. The architect was Diego de Siloe, and the style was to be late Gothic. The building was partly destroyed by an earthquake in 1680. Building was resumed in 1719 and construction was officially stopped in 1783, although the right tower was not finished, for lack of money. The Cathedral is called “La Manguita” (one armed woman) because the right tower is missing.

Bernardo de Galvez was a brave soldier from Macharaviaya, who became the governor of Luisiana, before the territory became French. During the American War of Independence, Galvez convinced the Spanish King Carlos III to divert the money that was going to be spent to complete the second tower of the Cathedral to help the Americans against the British. The money was spent for arms, food, medicine, and blankets. They did not send any men because they wanted the help to the Americans to be hidden from the British. This information is a result of the investigations of Marion Reder, a lady professor at the University of Malaga, who teaches Modern and Contemporary History.

Because construction took so long with many different architects, the Cathedral has three different architectural styles. The interior is Gothic, the head of the church and naves are Renaissance, and the entrance and tower are Baroque. The church is 115 meters long. The choir has stalls with carved wooden statues of saints and other figures. These were carved by Pedro de Mena, one of Spain‘s best wood carvers of his time. There is a chapel, Capilla del Rosario, there is a statue of the Virgin with Saints done by Alonso Cano. There is another chapel, Capilla de los Reyes, that has a statue depicting the kneeling figures of the Catholic Kings, done by Pedro de Mena. There is also a statuette of the Virgin that the Catholic Kings always took with them on their crusades. The main chapel has a modern altar with scenes from the Passion.

The ceiling is very unusual because it has many cupolas. These cupolas have very beautiful designs. Outside, the cupolas can be seen extending on the roof of the cathedral.

The Cathedral has two organs from the 18th century and these have over 4,000 pipes and are still in good working condition. The church also has a fabulous domed ceiling.

Today some citizens of Malaga want to finish the construction of the second tower for aesthetic reasons, but there is plenty of inertia and others want to leave the unfinished tower as it is.

Beside the Cathedral there is a smaller church called the Iglesia del Sagrario. This was constructed in the 15th century on a site of a mosque. The portal has the Isabeline Gothic style and this is the only part of the original building, which was rebuilt in 1714.