Church of Santa María La Mayor

The first information about the Church of Santa María La Mayor, located in the uppermost part of the city, dates back to the 13th century. Due to its location, its importance in the town and the fact it is mentioned on documents from the time, it is believed that it might occupy the site of what used to be a mosque. Its floor plan has three naves, with no transept, and they are separated by pointed arches that rest on Gothic pillars, typical of 16th-century Córdoba architecture.

There are two doors to the outside, La Puerta del Ángel (the Door of the Angel) and La Puerta del Perdón (the Door of Forgiveness). The first, which is named after the monument of Saint Raphael that is in front of it, stands out for the concave and convex grid decoration on its jambs and lintel, typical of Córdoba architecture. The Puerta del Perdón is Plateresque in style, dating from the late 17th to the early 18th century.

Among the most precious works of art that the church still preserves, it is worth highlighting the great railings that, before the restoration carried out in 2003, used to close off the chancel. It is in the mid-16th century Plateresque style and its crest, its embossed friezes and the way its parts are laid out indicate that it belongs to the Andalusian railings that followed the canons of Bartolomé of Jaén. It is, without a doubt, one of the most important railings in the province of Córdoba and it is just as magnificent as ones that exist in the most renowned cathedrals. Another jewel of great artistic value that we can admire in this church is the 18th-century monstrance, made of embossed and gilded silver, and the image of the Virgen de la Antigua, in Gothic style and sculpted in stone.