Orihuela Cathedral Orihuela Cathedral Orihuela Cathedral ("Catedral de Orihuela") is the main Roman Catholic church of Orihuela, Valencian Community, southern Spain. It was built above a pre-existing Muslim mosque as a simple parish church, and was later converted into main church by order of King Alfonso X of Castile in 1281. In 1413, pope Benedict XIII elevated it to the rank of collegiate, until it become a cathedral in 1510. Construction was begun in the late 13th century in Valencian Gothic style, with a Latin cross plan including a nave and two aisles, an ambulatory and chapels within buttresses. The crossing, the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seville the city were converted into churches, but Santa María la Blanca, Santa Cruz, and San Bartolome were left to the Jews for synagogues. The cathedral originated in the great mosque which was the work of the emirs who built the Aljama mosque, rebuilt in 1171 by the Almohad emir, Yusuf-ben Yacub. The famous tower called the Giralda is due to Almanzor. In order to secure the liturgical orientation, when the mosque was converted into a cathedral its width was made the length of the new church; and it was divided into two parts, the lesser part, on the cast, being