Co-Cathedral of Santa María of Cáceres

The Co-Cathedral of Santa María stands in the old walled city of Cáceres, at the centre of one of the best-preserved medieval and Renaissance quarters in Europe, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986. It occupies the Plaza de Santa María, the main square of the old town, which is lined with the stone mansions and palaces of noble families, and the church dominates the view with its sturdy tower and plain granite walls. It is a co-cathedral because the bishop of the diocese of Coria-Cáceres shares his seat between two cathedrals, one in Coria and this one in Cáceres, a status the church received in the mid-twentieth century.

The building was constructed mainly in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, after the Christian conquest of the city in the thirteenth century, and its style is late Gothic, with elements of the Renaissance. The exterior is austere. The façade is built of granite and has a simple portal, a tall tower and few ornaments, and the walls were designed to look strong and unadorned, in keeping with the fortress-like feel of the old town. The interior is much more impressive. The church has a single large space divided into three naves by tall, slender columns, which support a network of ribbed vaults. The proportions are spacious and luminous, and the stonework of the vaults is carefully detailed.

The high altar holds a large retable carved in wood in the sixteenth century, a work of the Renaissance rich in sculpture and scenes from the life of Christ and the Virgin, with gilded and painted details, and it is the main artistic treasure of the church. Side chapels hold tombs and altarpieces from the families who financed them, many of them with carved coats of arms, which testify to the wealth and pride of the local aristocracy. The sacristy and treasury include silverware and vestments.

A custom outside the church draws attention. In front of the church stands a bronze statue of Saint Peter of Alcántara, a Franciscan reformer born in the nearby town of Alcántara, and visitors rub his foot for luck, which has made it shiny. The square is surrounded by palaces such as the Episcopal Palace, and the steps and arches lead to the other streets of the old quarter, where the Plaza Mayor of Cáceres lies a short walk away. The walls and the towers of the old city, with storks' nests perched on top, make a dramatic backdrop.

The church is open to visitors at fixed hours, which vary by season and by services, so check before going. It suits history and architecture lovers, and combines with a stroll through the old town. Evening is a lovely time, when the stone is lit and the crowds are small.