Tudela Cathedral of Santa María

Few churches sum up a town's history quite as well as the cathedral of Santa María in Tudela. Beneath its walls lie the remains of the Great Mosque, which was in use from the 9th to the 11th century, and on top of them rose a large Christian church in the late Romanesque style, austere and generously proportioned, in which the influence of Cistercian architecture is clearly felt.

Interestingly, the new building did not keep the orientation of the old Muslim prayer hall. That is why the mosque was demolished and only some of its foundations were reused, a detail that helps explain how one town came to be layered on top of another. Work began in the late 12th century, under Sancho VI the Wise, and carried on under his son Sancho VII the Strong and later under the latter's nephew, Theobald I, so the church is the fruit of the efforts of three Navarrese reigns.

For centuries it was not a cathedral but a collegiate church. Its elevation came in the 18th century, when Tudela broke away from the diocese of neighbouring Tarazona and Pope Pius VI granted it its new status at the request of Charles III. Just over a century later, in 1884, it was declared a national monument in recognition of its historical and artistic value.

To visit, simply wander through the old town: the church takes up the block formed by Plaza Vieja and the streets of Roso, Portal and Horno Higuera, right in the historic centre. It is worth taking a leisurely walk around it before going in, as these narrow streets give you a better sense of the building's sheer bulk and its role as the focal point of life in Tudela over the centuries.