Basílica de Santa María

The Basílica de Santa María is the oldest church still in active use in Alicante, built in Gothic style between the 14th and 16th centuries on the site of the city's former main mosque. It stands at the edge of the Barrio de Santa Cruz, at the foot of Monte Benacantil, and was raised to the rank of minor basilica by the Vatican on 25 March 2007, at the request of the city council.

An uneven façade

The building has a single nave with side chapels set between the buttresses, and an asymmetrical façade: the right-hand tower, L-shaped in plan, dates from the 14th century, while the rectangular left-hand tower was added in 1713. The Baroque doorway, the work of sculptor Juan Bautista Borja, stands in contrast to the restraint of the rest of the church. A fire in 1484 forced major repairs, and during the Spanish Civil War the building was used as a military store and suffered further damage inside.

The basilica is usually visited on the same walk as the rest of the old town, near the Concatedral de San Nicolás de Bari and the Mercat Central. The interior, dim and cool even in high summer, offers a welcome contrast to the heat outside during the middle of the day. As an active church, it's worth avoiding visits during Mass and keeping to a quiet pace inside, as in any working church, especially at weekends.