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Cathedral of El Salvador de Orihuela

Orihuela, El Baix Segura, Alicante

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Spain › Valencian Community › Alicante › El Baix Segura › Orihuela › Cathedral of El Salvador de Orihuela

Cathedral of El Salvador de Orihuela

Monument · Orihuela, El Baix Segura, Alicante

The cathedral of El Salvador and Santa María, seat of the diocese of Orihuela-Alicante, began to be built in the late 13th century on Visigothic and Hispano-Arab remains. In 1281 Alfonso X the Wise ordered that the church of El Salvador and Santa María be the largest in the town, with primacy over the other two Oriolan parishes. In 1413 Pope Benedict XIII raised it to collegiate status, a necessary step prior to attaining cathedral rank; in 1510 Julius II created the bishopric of Orihuela united with that of Cartagena under a single bishop, a measure later annulled. It was not until 1564 that Pope Pius IV definitively separated Orihuela from the diocese of Cartagena and created its own bishopric, at the request of Philip II and in fulfilment of what had been agreed at the Cortes of Monzón of 1563.

Photo: Deshrnndzz (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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