Most cathedrals I’ve seen are Gothic, which was the style before the Renaissance.  Gothic tends to be dark and heavily adorned, while Renaissance tends to be lighter and less intricately adorned with more repeating geometric patterns.  

Few things are absolute, and building cathedrals took years.  Decorating them took even more years, so often you’ll see a Renaissance church with Baroque alters and side chapels.  

We visited two Renaissance cathedrals, one in Granada and one in Málaga.  Interestingly, these places of worship focused more on Mary than a several-storey crucified Jesus.  Mary gets a lot of airtime in the Catholic religion.

The cathedral in Granada is first.

The lighter interior feels more open, even though many of the features of the space are similar to their Gothic compatriots.  Here the organ on the right is being restored.  I cannot imagine the maintenance bill on a structure like this.  I am in the nave looking towards the sanctuary. Paintings of important moments in Jesus’s life are depicted below the stain glass windows.   

Here’s a better look at the organ.  They are massive and flank the nave.  

Here’s a better look at the sanctuary.  There’s a lot going on in this image, and I suspect this entire thing is more Baroque than not, given the flourishes and ornate decorations.  

I am now looking backwards, towards the main entrance of the cathedral.

I found this clever bit of tech.  You used to light an actual candle, but fire and wax and replacing the votives must have been a pain.  Introducing LED offerings!  For only 20 cents you can light a LED candle that will flicker for “long enough.”  

Somehow, it doesn’t feel the same, likely because fire is so elemental.  But it is cheaper.  I remember paying a full Euro in years past.  

Lest we not forget, above is a Gothic door.  It is the only true Gothic thing in the Granda Cathedral.  

The ceiling of the sanctuary.  I am in the ambulatory looking back towards the nave and entrance.  See how the columns are simple and geometric, hallmark of Renaissance architecture.  This contrasts heavily with the massively ornate arches of the Alhambra. 

We move next to Málaga. 

You admire the beauty of the church.  A wood carved ceiling marks the side entrance we are using for access. 

Again, very Renaissance.  White marble and an overall airy and lighter feel.  The vaulted ceiling is still quite decorated, but nothing is 100% anything.  This cathedral was a bit darker but still overall more luminescent than older cathedrals.  Again, more focused on Mary than Jesus in the sanctuary.  Still plenty of crucifixes in other places.  

I am in the crossing of the cathedral looking upwards.  The ceiling was well lit by artificial light, but had to have netting to protect visitors from falling plaster.  How do you even get up there to fix things?

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This cathedral used a retrochoir setup, with the choir sitting in the nave in this carved wooden seating.  Quite a lot of work.  Who built this?  Who carved this wood?  Sadly, we will never know.  

A side chapel, focusing on Mary.

Here’s a close up view of the sanctuary.  The ambulatory circles around back and has more chapels.  These columns are not for show, but help hold up the larger roof.  Otherwise, the cathedral could not be as wide as it is.  

Our day trip to Málaga was long.  We walked about 8 miles, and were out for over 12 hours.  We got back to the apartment and crashed.  While in Málaga, we visited another alcazar and castle.  I’ll post pics of that tomorrow.  
For now I must nap.  It’s New Years Eve and we have a long night ahead of us.  

As of 12/30:
Churches:  14
Cathedrals: 3
Miles Walked: 32.43
Alcazars: 3