Alicante Step by step - Universidad de Sevilla

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MONUMENTS AND MUSEUMS
In Alicante we can see the Ibero-Roman city with remains
dating from the 5th century BC to the 2nd century AD, or
choose to see some of the displays of the finest contemporary
artists; one of the most advanced archaeological museums in
Spain; or the largest collection of 20th-century Spanish sculpture
in the world; or an imposing mountaintop castle, Gothic churches
and many extraordinary examples of civic and religious buildings
in the baroque style.
As a new addition to Alicante's fine selection of monuments and museums, the city is
soon to open a Provincial Fine Arts Gallery intended to contain and preserve 19th-century
paintings and other works of art now in the holdings of the provincial council.
The city’s 18th-century manor houses, the typical Santa Cruz quarter with its quaint
chapels, and many other monuments scattered around the urban area where travelling
exhibitions are often held, are other attractions in the tourist lineup this city has to offer,
ensuring that visitors will be pleasantly surprised.
CHURCHES AND TEMPLES
Iglesia de Santa María (St Mary's Church) tel. 96 521 60 26
This is the oldest church in the city and was built in the Gothic style between the 14th
and 16th centuries over the ruins of what was once the main mosque during the Moorish
domination. The solid-looking towers flanking the façade are similar in appearance, but
are in fact different in that the right tower has an original “L” shape and dates from the
14th century whereas the other is rectangular and was erected in 1713. The portal is a
beautiful example of sculpted baroque stonework and is attributed to Juan Bautista Borja.
Of note inside is the high alter in golden rococo (18th C), the choir in a very pure 14th-
century Gothic style, the 16th-century Immaculate Conception chapel, with an image
by Esteve Bonet (18th C), the antechoir, with a handsome baroque stone doorway, and
the baptism chapel whose font in white Carrara marble is of Italian workmanship from
the 16th century, attributed to the school of Michelangelo.
There are many works of art kept inside this church, of which two valuable pieces from
the 15th century can be highlighted: a Gothic image in stone representing St Mary and
a sculpture of the Santos Juanes by Rodrigo de Osona. There are also incunabula dating
from the 13th century onwards.