Santa Iglesia Catedral Basílica de la Encarnación

Naturally, when we arrived in Malaga, we had to visit the cathedral. But getting to the hotel and parking was an ordeal.

First we thought we'd drive the cemetery to have a look about. We found it just, but what we failed to find was parking. It is impossible to find parking anywhere in Malaga as far as I can tell. So we abandoned this notion and headed to the hotel.



We were instructed to park in a municipal (underground) lot near the hotel since it is located in a pedestrian zone. Great. We set the GPS and our phone to get us there. It turns out that every road (really, all of them) within about 1/2 a mile of the parking lot is under construction or one-way the wrong way. After wandering about for 20 minutes or so, we finally found our way into the garage.

Once in hotel and off into the surround city, we found the cathedral. The unfortunate use of sodium vapor lights to illuminate the ceiling means we get some strange color combinations.

This is the second tallest church in Spain and in this shot of the altar area, you can see it. The detail work in the ceiling is amazing. The use of these classical columns creates an imposing scene.

I could not get the sort of symmetric photo I try for here for a couple reasons. First there is the color of the lighting as it shifts from yellow to blue as the the daylight dominates farther from the altar. And you you can also see that there are screens placed just below the ceiling toward the back of the church. Nevertheless, it is an impressive place. These Spanish really know how to build a church.

The choir is flanked on either side by a massive set of organ pipes. One side is seen here in the look down on aisle.

Below is a shot of the chapel across from the organ pipes.

And turning around we see the organ pipes. There is another set just like this on the opposing aisle. I'll be this place really rings with sound with the organist cuts loose.

On the front of this renaissance church, is a baroque facade.

You're getting lots of ceiling images here because there were displays across the back of the church telling the history of the building. These aren't so interesting to see so I looked in other directions.

Another of the many side chapels is shown below. The chapels here we all filled with paintings done by people I do not know, but according to the audio guide were well-known and regarded in Spain.

I did enjoy looking upward at the column capitals and the ceiling design.

I considered making the image below monochrome, but then I'd lose the stained glass which make an impact worth keeping.

A building definitely worth seeing when you visit Malaga.