Murcia Cathedral

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The Santa Iglesia Catedral de Santa María, known as the Cathedral of Murcia, is the main temple and headquarters of the Diocese of Cartagena. It is located in the old town of Murcia, in the Plaza del Cardenal Belluga.

Consecrated in 1467, it had several additions (such as the bell tower) or occasional reforms (new chapels or façades) mainly in the XVI and XVIII, thus integrating the original Gothic style with Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical additions.

Among its architectural elements, the tower stands out, 93 meters high, making it the third tallest bell tower in Spain -the second if only cathedrals are included-; the main façade or imafronte, considered a masterpiece of Spanish Baroque; and the Vélez, Junterones and Trascoro chapels.

In the Main Chapel is the sepulchral urn where the heart and entrails of Alfonso X the Wise rest.

The Cathedral of Santa María was declared a National Monument in 1931.

History

Creation of the Diocese of Cartagena (1250)

When the Taifa of Murcia entered the Castilian orbit after the signing of the treaty of Alcaraz in 1243, the cathedral was reestablished in Cartagena in 1250, because this town had been the seat of the old Carthaginian diocese; documented at least from the s. IV, and also because it was one of the few Christian nuclei of a kingdom that at that time had a majority of semi-autonomous Andalusian populations (including the capital), thanks to the protectorate regime established by the aforementioned treaty of Alcaraz. However, contrary to Murcia, Cartagena and other towns (such as Mula and Lorca) did not abide by the treaty, so Castilian troops led by the infante Alfonso (future Alfonso X of Castile) applied the right of conquest over Mula (1244). and Cartagena (1245), while Lorca ended up signing a pact with the besiegers that replicated that of Alcaraz.

Entry of Jaime I in Murcia on February 2, 1266

In 1246, Cartagena received the Fuero de Córdoba, a sign of its full integration into the crown of Castile, while the medina of Murcia and its walled suburbs would continue for another twenty years in Andalusian hands, except for the Alcázar Mayor and the suburb of Murcia la nueva, later called Rabal de San Juan, which would begin to be populated by Christians.

Conversion of the Aljama Mosque in Murcia into a Christian temple (1266)

Jaime I the Conqueror took the city of Murcia in 1266 after putting down the Mudejar uprising. Until then the city had been a Muslim majority for having respected the Alcaraz treaty, but its autonomy was suspended after the revolt. The Aragonese monarch prepared to solemnly enter Murcia on February 2 of that year, seizing the city's Greater Mosque, contravening the provisions of the surrender agreement.

The building of the mosque, dedicated to Christian worship from then on under the name of Iglesia Mayor de Santa María, was the venue for the royal wedding between the Infanta Beatriz de Castilla, daughter of Alfonso X, and William VII of Montferrat in August 1271, a temple that was not converted into a Cathedral until the order to transfer the episcopal see was approved in 1291.

Sancho IV de Castilla. By allowing the bishop's transfer to Murcia, he converted the temple to the Cathedral in 1291.

Transfer of the Episcopal Headquarters and conversion into a Cathedral (1291)

By order of Sancho IV, at the request of the bishop and without the permission of the Pope, the headquarters ended up moving to Murcia due to the supposed insecurity that the Cartagena coasts presented at that time, together with the fact that it was the capital of the Kingdom of Murcia and the Church has here most of its properties donated by the king. However, the decree of transfer ordered the maintenance of carthaginensis as the name of the diocese. In this way, the Iglesia Mayor de Santa María would be transformed into the Cathedral of Santa María.

Construction of the current Cathedral (XIV-XV)

In the time of Bishop Pedro de Peñaranda (1337-1352) the new Gothic cloister of the Cathedral was built, thus being the oldest part of the current architectural complex, whose remains can be visited today in the Cathedral Museum. To build the cloister, a part of the old mosque had to be demolished, the foundations of which are also preserved in the museum.

It was during the bishopric of Fernando de Pedrosa (1383-1402) when work began on the current temple. In 1385 the foundations began, and in 1388 the first stone was laid, but it was not until 1394 that the bulk of the construction work began on the building that replaced the old mosque.

The building advanced thanks to the action of effective managers such as the prelates Pablo de Santa María and Fray Diego de Bedán. Under the Episcopate of Diego de Comontes (1446-1458) the figure of Diego Sánchez de Almazán appears as master builder. During these years the vaults are closed, built on pillars of bundles of attached columns and capitals with a vegetal theme with rosettes on the keystones. A large part of the forge and ironwork of the temple was also carried out, due to Antón de Viveros.

Later, under the Episcopate of Lope de Ribas (1459-1478), the works entered their final stretch, being consecrated in 1467 although the bull of Paul II is dated January 24, 1465. The Gate of the Apostles it was completed a few years later (in 1488).

Later reforms (16th century and XVIII)

Velez Chapel, one of the most important additions that the Cathedral had at the end of the centuryXV and beginnings of the centuryXVI.

However, the temple underwent specific reforms and additions; The first of these being the construction of the Vélez Chapel, begun in 1490 and completed in 1507 in a beautiful flamboyant Gothic style. In 1512 the construction of the Puerta de las Cadenas would begin in full renaissance, and in 1515 the works of the Junterón chapel (which concluded in 1574). The bell tower would be built from 1521 (being paralyzed in 1555), together with the Sacristy (1522-1531) located inside the first body of the tower, while the small chapel of the Annunciation (1527) and the chapel of the Baptistery (1541) are somewhat later. The building would be seen in this state by Emperor Charles V during his visit to the city in 1541, praying before the tomb of Alfonso X located in the main chapel.

At the beginning of the XVII century, already under the influence of the Baroque, the chapel of the Retrochoir was built, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, while in the XVIII century, in the middle of the Murcian Golden Age, it would rise the new main façade or imafronte (1737-1754), the Puerta de las Cadenas would be reformed (1783) and between 1765 and 1793 the bell tower would be completed.

The fire of 1854

In 1854 the Cathedral suffered a terrifying fire that destroyed the primitive High Altar and the choir stalls. The repair works consisted of creating a new neo-Gothic altarpiece (the work of the carvers Pescador and Palao), and commissioning a majestic organ in the same style from the prestigious Belgian firm Merklin-Schütze. A Plateresque stall from the XVI century, from the Monastery of Santa María de Valdeiglesias, a donation made by Queen Isabella, was installed under the organ. II to the Cathedral.

Bell-Tower

Tower of the Cathedral of Murcia

Torre de la Catedral from Plaza de la Cruz.

The tower of the Cathedral of Murcia, built between 1521 and 1793, is the indisputable symbol of the Cathedral and the city of Murcia, it measures 93 meters (98 with the weather vane) and is therefore the second highest in Spain after The giralda of seville.

It was devised in 1519, constituting one of the most daring initiatives of the cathedral chapter in the time of Bishop-Cardinal Mateo Lang of Wellenburg. After the presence of the Italian architect Francisco Florentino in the project, his brother Jacobo Florentino would end up replacing him, he was the one who started the works on this superb bell tower, working on them until his death in 1525.

Due to the length of its construction process, it brings together different styles:

• The first body, made by the Italians Francisco and Jacobo Florentino in 1521, is of square plant and Renaissance style with ornamentation of the Hispanic Plateresque. Inside, the Great Sacristy is housed.
• The second body was made by Jerome Quijano and is of the same style but following more purist lines; the works were completed in 1555, being paralyzed at this level for more than two centuries as a result of the worrying inclination that began to suffer the Tower. In its interior the Cathedral Archive was installed, located at this altitude to avoid the periodicals of the Safe River.
• The third body, where the watch room is housed, began to rise in 1765 already under the canons of the baroque and having as director José López, who by an architectural calculation avoided the previous inclination of the Tower projecting a greater weight load to the opposite side.
• In the fourth body the conjuratoryfour temples crowned by pyramidal domes and the effigines of the Saints Fulgencio, Leandro, Isidoro and Florentina. In them the storms were conjured with the relic of the Lignum Crucis that is preserved in the Cathedral.
• The fifth body, of the Rococo style, corresponds to the bell tower, where are the 20 bells of the Cathedral.
• The ensemble crowns the airy dome drawn by Ventura Rodríguez, of neoclassical style, finally culminating in the flashlight in 1793.

The Bells of the Tower add up to a total of twenty, almost all from the XVIII and XIX. Each one receives its own name:

The bells of the Tower have served to announce the tremendous floods of the Segura river, wars, celebrations and festivities. Currently, many of its traditional touches are maintained, recovered as another patrimonial element of the cathedral and of the city itself. Only one bell is older than the rest (XIV century): it is called Mora and is considered one of the oldest in Spain; a few years ago it was taken down from the tower and deposited in the Cathedral Museum.

Plant of the Cathedral of Murcia

Guided tours of the cathedral tower are conducted daily from the Murcia Cathedral Museum.

Interior

The Cathedral of Santa María was projected as a temple with a Latin cross with three naves and an ambulatory, where the features of the Mediterranean Gothic are observed due to its structural simplicity, its moderate elevation and limited windows. It has Castilian influence in the arrangement of the central nave, higher than the lateral ones, but also Aragonese influence by placing the dome at the foot of the temple and not in the transept. As a peculiar feature, the transept is longer on its north side than on the south.

It has twenty-three chapels, dedicated to the patron saints of the guilds and to the burials of bishops and nobles who promoted or collaborated in its construction. Among them are:

Cúpula de la Capilla de Los Vélez
Omniramic vision

• Velez Chapel:

Built in the flamboyant Gothic style as a burial place for the Mayor of Murcia; the works began in 1490 by mandate of the advanced Juan Chacón under the Episcopate of Rodrigo de Borja (1482-1492); who was Pope later with the name of Alexander VI. This chapel is a body attached to the general factory that was occupied by two old chapels of the ambulatory. It has a polygonal plan and a ten-pointed star dome. The construction of this chapel gave rise to a great lawsuit between the Adelantados and the council by strangling the layout of the adjoining Oliver street, a lawsuit that had to be resolved by the Catholic Monarchs. It is dedicated to San Lucas and resembles the Chapel of the Constable in Burgos or that of D. Álvaro de Luna in Toledo. It is by an unknown author, although it was attributed to Juan Guas or Juan de León. The work was finished in 1507, being advanced by Pedro Fajardo y Chacón, first Marquis of Los Vélez (hence the popular name of the chapel).

The sculptural symbology of the chapel denotes the lineage and power acquired by the Fajardo family. An example of this is the stone chain that surrounds the outer perimeter of the chapel and the reliefs and sculptures with the shields of the dynasty held by the so-called savages. Given its high artistic value, in 1928 it was declared a National Monument, three years before the Cathedral itself.

Exterior details of the Junteron Chapel

• Capilla de Junterón:

It is one of the great works of the Spanish Renaissance. It was founded in 1515 and paid for by Gil Rodríguez de Junterón, Archdeacon of Lorca and Apostolic Protonotary, who held high positions in the Roman curia in the time of Julius II. It was built on top of a previous Gothic chapel. The new work was possibly based on plans by Jacobo Florentino, under the direction of Jerónimo Quijano.

The entrance is rectangular in shape, on the floor of which there is a tombstone that reads: "here life comes to a stop", through which the crypt is accessed where Gil Rodríguez de Junterón was buried using a Roman sarcophagus, a piece that can currently be seen in the Cathedral Museum. The chapel continues with an enclosure with an approximately oval plan (a rectangle topped on its smaller sides with circles) with relief decoration in the Plateresque style, crowned with an exceptional toric vault of the model called by the stonemasons "Bóveda de Murcia" for this chapel. The sculptures of prophets and sibyls on the main wall are from 1592, made by Cristóbal Salazar and Juan Pérez de Artá. The central relief of the Adoration of the Shepherds is attributed to Quijano.

At the door of the chapel, two Ionic columns support an arch on whose keystone is a relief with the arms of Pope Julius II. At the lower level and on both sides appear the arms of the founder of the chapel with the legend "DE IUNTERÓN ES", hence it is called the "Chapel of Junterones".

Capilla de Junterón

(Pulse for omniorama)

• Immaculate Chapel:

Image of the Immaculate or Trascoro Chapel.

Located in the retrochoir, it was built in the XVII century (1625) by order of Bishop Trejo, it is in the baroque and consists of a beautiful front that combines variegated and black and white marble; It was the first chapel dedicated to this dedication in the whole world. It is decorated with reliquaries of Juan Bautista Estangueta el Mozo.

• Chapel of San Antonio:

Founded in 1388 by Bishop Fernando de Pedrosa who was buried in it in 1402, it is the oldest chapel preserved in the cathedral. Initially under the invocation of San Jerónimo, it was also called "of the Supper", for having a painting with said motive in it. It later belonged to the Marquis of Carrión, descendant of Don Juan Manuel, to pass at the end of the XV century to the Cabildo, which installed in she the ram of the canons and the services of the parish. It has a notable Gothic ribbed vault with paintings and a small annexed Renaissance chapel dedicated to the Annunciation, the work of Jerónimo Quijano (1527), where the tomb of Jacobo de las Leyes is located and a set of sculptures representing the Annunciation Quijano's own work. The execution of this space enters fully into the first renaissance and serves to exalt the memory of the editor of the Siete Partidas buried in it.

• Chapel of the Baptistery:

Founded by Canon Graso in 1541. It is located at the foot of the back cover of the Cathedral. It is Renaissance of the XVI. It has a precious Genoese altarpiece carved in white marble, in the center of which is the image of the Virgen del Socorro by Juan de Lugano. It also has a huge baptismal font of Italian origin.

• Chapel of Relief or San Antón:

Located in the ambulatory, it is of Gothic architecture. Founded by the commander of Lorquí Sáncho Dávalos in 1435 who placed it under the dedication of San Antón, later it passed into the hands of the Socorro Brotherhood that in 1735 ordered the construction of a baroque altarpiece with a pronounced chapel for the Virgin of the same dedication attributed to Salzillo, main attraction of the chapel. Several experts attribute such a luxurious altarpiece to José Ganga or Nicolás de Rueda.

• Sacristy:

Located under the bell tower, specifically inside its first body. It has two portals, the one facing the nave, called the ante-sacristy, was designed by Jerónimo Quijano (1531) in the form of a triumphal arch crowned by the theological virtues. This opens the way to a room covered by a spiral dome where there is a simpler interior doorway, attributed to Jacobo Florentino, which leads to a corridor with a skewed vault through which the sacristy is accessed.

The sacristy, designed by Jacobo Florentino in 1522, was continued by his successor Jerónimo Quijano from 1526, covering its walls with walnut panels carved with Renaissance motifs and an extraordinary relief of the Descent on its front. major. A large dome with garlands crowns the enclosure. Some of the boards caught fire in 1689, entrusting their repair to the sculptor Gabriel Pérez de Mena.

Organ of the Cathedral and detail of the choir sillery.

• Coro:

The primitive choir stalls were made of good quality walnut. It was made in the middle of the XV century, when the Cathedral was consecrated in 1467. It was filigree Gothic. It was built while Lope de Rivas was Bishop of Cartagena. This stall, already deteriorated, was replaced after several attempts by the Cabildo in 1790. The work was carried out by the master carpenter of the Cathedral, Francisco López Reyes, following the project of Alfonso Regalado.

It was made of walnut wood and, after twelve years of work, it was inaugurated on October 23, 1803. This neoclassical style stalls served for about fifty years until it was burned down on February 4, 1854.

After the destruction of the previous choir, the efforts of Bishop Mariano Barrio managed to get Isabel II to give away the late Renaissance stalls that were going to be destined for San Jerónimo el Real in Madrid, coming from the disentailed monastery of Santa María de Valdeiglesias. This valuable stall is the work of Rafael de León, between 1567 and 1571. Above it is the great double-fronted neo-Gothic organ made by the Belgian firm Merklin-Schütze in 1856, one of the most famous in Spain.

The Gothic bars of the main altar and choir are also important, the work of Antón de Viveros from the XV century, as well like the numerous stained glass windows, many of them medieval.

• Chapel

Transept and presbytery of the Cathedral.

In the Main Chapel (which has the rank of royal chapel because it contains the Renaissance tomb with the entrails of Alfonso X) is the main altarpiece of the Cathedral, a neo-Gothic work from 1863 designed by Mariano Pescador and executed by Leoncio Baglietto and Antonio Palao and Marco after the fire of 1854, which led to the loss of the previous Renaissance altarpiece of 1510.

The current altarpiece has the Virgin of Peace in its dressing room, the Evangelists on the bench, and the rest of the saints related to the Diocese (Four saints of Cartagena, Blessed Andrés Hibernón, Saint Patrick...) and crowning it, the Crucifixion.

• Tomb of Alfonso X de Castilla

Urna topulcral in the Chapel where the heart and the bowels of Alfonso X rest.

In the Main Chapel of the Cathedral of Murcia, coming from the old church of the Alcázar Mayor of the city, called Nuestra Señora la Real de Gracia, are the heart and entrails of Alfonso X el Sabio, placed inside from an urn. The monarch's purpose was that his heart be taken to Mount Calvario, in the Holy Land, and his entrails to the Murcian monastery of Santa María la Real del Alcázar. However, the monarch's will was never fulfilled, and his heart and entrails ended up resting in the same place, in the Murcian monastery. In the year 1525, at the request of the Murcia council, and by order of Emperor Charles V, the entrails of Alfonso X were transferred to the main chapel of the Murcia Cathedral.

The urn that contains the entrails of the king is placed in a Renaissance semicircular niche decorated with floral motifs, restored after 1854. The urn that holds the entrails is made of stone, painted white and gold, and each on its sides are represented two heralds, with golden maces resting on their shoulders, on whose dalmatics appear the shields of the kingdom of Castilla y León. The figures of the heralds, which were made in the 16th century, are painted in red and gold. On a cartouche placed at the bottom of the urn, and in German characters, the following inscription is read:

"WHO ARE THE SIGNS OF THE LORD REY DON'T ALSO X, THE QUAL MURIENDS IN SEVILLA BY THE GREAT LEALTAD THAT THIS CIBDAT OF MURANCE IS SIRVOUS IN YOUR ADVERSITY THE SEPULT HANDS IN IT."

Emperor Carlos V forbade anyone, whatever their rank, to be buried in the chapel where the entrails of Alfonso X were deposited, and by means of a decree issued on May 11, 1526, he ordered that a grate be made of iron that had to carry his coat of arms and in which it had to be engraved that Alfonso X wanted his entrails to be taken to Murcia.

• Other burial

The remains of the so-called Four Saints of Cartagena (Fulgencio, Isidoro, Leandro and Florentina), patrons of the Diocese, are also venerated in a silver urn in the Main Chapel.

In various chapels rest the remains of several illustrious Murcians, such as the writer Diego de Saavedra Fajardo, the jurisconsult Jacobo de las Leyes, the blessed Andrés Hibernón (co-patron of the city), or Juan Sáez, a venerable priest in process of canonization.

Outside

Gate of the Apostles. CenturyXV. Gothic style.

• Gate of the Apostles:

Begun in 1463 by Diego Sánchez de Almazán, it is in a flowery Gothic style. It is the door that gives access to the transept on the south side.

It consists of a single central hole surrounded by pointed archivolts arranged concentrically in which the sculptural decoration of musical angels and kings from the Old Testament is inserted. On the jambs, and under Gothic canopies, the images of the apostles Peter, Paul, Andrew and James are represented in the base area, while musical angels and kings of Israel follow the line of the archivolts towards the upper part. In the keystone of the arch, the coat of arms of Queen Elizabeth II was added in gratitude for the donations made to the Cathedral, leaving the façade crowned by a large rose window. The addition of the Bourbon shield occupies the place from which a mullion started, now disappeared.

The door of the Apostles was completed in 1488.

• Pozo Gate:

Small and secluded access to the cathedral through the ambulatory, open next to the foot of the tower and whose simple façade stands out for the elegant semicircular arch that frames the door.

Chain Gate. Beginnings of the XVI. Plateresca

• Door of the Chains:

Plateresque façade that closes the transept on its north side. It consists of two bodies, the lower one from the XVI century and the upper one reformed in the XVIII.

The lower body was begun around 1512, being one of the first initiatives of the Spanish Renaissance, showing a symbolic exaltation of the recent capture of Granada.

The upper one was reformed in 1783 by José López, reusing pilasters and friezes from the 16th century. Pedro Federico Pérez and Diego García carved the reliefs of the brothers San Leandro, San Isidoro and San Fulgencio, and the upper vases.

It gets its name from the chains that delimit the outer sacred enclosure that, presided over by a large cross, has existed since medieval times in the atrium that opens in front of this façade.

• The Ports:

Under the large volume occupied by the Casa de los Canónigos and the Diocesan Museum, there is a picturesque gallery open to the street popularly known as "los Arbors". It is an arcaded corridor that surrounds this part of the building on the perimeter, whose Baroque semicircular arches and groin vaults were originally integrated into the cathedral cloister.

• The imafronte:

Imafronte of the Cathedral of Murcia with the Tower in the background. Baroque masterpiece.

In Baroque style, the main façade or imafronte is of exceptional beauty and monumentality, unique in its kind.

It replaces an earlier façade, built in the mid-XVI century under the direction of Jerónimo Quijano, in the time of the bishop Esteban de Almeyda (1546-1563).

Details of the central body of the Imafronte.

In the 18th century, due to the continuous floods and frequent earthquakes, the imagefront was affected, showing a worrying lack of of firmness The Cathedral Chapter requested information from Sebastián Feringán (military engineer director of the Cartagena Arsenal works) and Fray Antonio de San José, who advised its total demolition.

In 1732 the demolition of the previous façade began, proceeding to build the new one between 1737 and 1754.

Oriented to the west, to what since 1759 would be the Plaza del Palacio (later called Plaza del Cardenal Belluga), it was conceived as a stone altarpiece commissioned by the Cabildo himself and by Cardenal Belluga, being executed by the architect Jaime Bort (based on plans from Feringán), which had numerous collaborators such as Manuel Bergaz, José Campos, Juan de Gea, and José López. The foundation is due to Sebastián Feringán himself.

In 1749 Jaime Bort went to Madrid to work in the Court, continuing the works his disciple Pedro Fernández, who finished the works in 1754.

The financing of the work went through serious difficulties, which were overcome thanks to the contributions of individuals, the Royal House and Cardinal Belluga.

The imafronte is entirely dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, head of the temple, also appearing on it countless effigies of saints and martyrs linked to the Diocese of Cartagena; many of them were made by the French image maker Antonio Dupar.

The façade is divided into two horizontal bodies and three vertical sections. The vertical ones are divided by large columns, the lateral ones joining the central one by means of large volutes, finishing off the central street with a large curved molding that, like a pediment, forms a vault cap with the sculpture of the Assumption of the Virgin. At the base of the three bodies are the three doors that correspond to the three naves inside the temple: the two lateral ones (the one of San José o del Cabildo and the one of San Juan o del Concejo) and the central one, called Puerta del Perdón (which is only opened on the occasion of great ceremonies), crowned by a large niche with the sculptural group of the Virgin Mary with the Archangels.

The façade was crowned by a large statue of Santiago nailing the cross to the ground (since tradition says that the apostle entered Hispania through the port of Cartagena), but it was removed due to its heavy weight in 1803, being replaced by a cross that was demolished by the Torrevieja Earthquake of 1829.

Cathedral Museum of Murcia

Exterior view of the Museum from the Plaza de la Cruz.

Retablo de la Virgen de la Leche. Barnabas de Modena (centuryXIV). Museum of the Cathedral.

Installed in the space occupied by the Chapter House and the old Gothic cloister from the mid-century XIV, of which the south bay and its chapels are still preserved (among which stands out the one of San Juan de la Claustra with a Renaissance doorway by Jerónmo Quijano), the rest of the cloister was reformed in the XVII century to house the accounting offices and the current arcades, but after the important reform and A recent restoration of this space has brought to light practically all of the arcades of the cloister and the upper part of the old Gothic portal of the Annunciation.

The cathedral museum houses innumerable artistic pieces of a religious nature that go from Roman times to the present day. The exhibition space has also been the subject of an important rehabilitation that has almost totally recovered the old structure of the cloister and has also exposed the remains of the old Arab mosque on which the building was built.

From his collection it is necessary to mention:

• Paintings and altarpieces: the Gothic altarpieces of Saint Lucia and the Virgin of the Milk of the Italian Bernabé de Módena (sixteenth century)XIV), the Gothic altarpiece San Miguel (anonymous of the centuryXV), the picture of the Desposorios de la Virgen and the Adoration of the Pastors by Fernando de Llanos, the Renaissance work of this disciple of Leonardo da Vinci, various works of Luke Jordan (sixteenth centuryXVII) and the portrait of Bishop Mariano Barrio of Federico de MadrazoXIX).
• Orfebrería: outstanding Custody of the Corpus work Antonio Pérez de Montalto (sixteenth century)XVII), the Ark of Holy Thursday (sixteenth century)XVIII), the Custody of the Brides of the same century, relicarios, the jeweler of the Virgin of the Fuensanta and a valuable collection of chalices.
• Sculpture: stand out. Sarcophagus of the Musas (Roman of the centuryIII) and various Gothic sculptures in stone. The museum also has important works by Francisco Salzillo as the medallion of the Virgin of the Milkthe very important image of San Jerónimo and Christ of FacistolAll of the centuryXVIII.
• It also highlights a collection of ecclesiastical clothing and the presence of the ancient Mora bell (centuryXIV).

You can also visit the Cathedral Tower through the Murcia Cathedral Museum.

Museum hours: Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Sundays and holidays from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Closed Monday.

Special ceremonies in the Cathedral

Throughout the year, festivals and religious solemnities take place in which the Murcian cathedral is the main setting. Among them stands out:

• Receipt and Farewell of Our Lady of the Fuensanta: the image of the patron saint visits the city twice a year, on the occasion of the anniversary of her Coronation, staying at the Cathedral during Holy Week and the Spring Festivals and on the occasion of its festival, returning to its Sanctuary after the Feria de Murcia respectively. It derives from its sanctuary on the mountain, it stays in the cathedral during both rooms. The cathedral receives many visitors on these occasions.
• Feast of Our Lady of the Fuensanta, on Sunday after 8 September: mass and claustral procession with the image of the patron, traveling the cathedral ships.
• San Fulgencio, patron of the Diocese: every 16th of January a solemn Mass is offered in his honor according to the Mozarabic rite, as well as the procession of the urn containing its remains.
• Corpus Christi: Proceeding out of the Custody (the 17th century silver work signed by Pérez de Montalvo) on the streets of the historic center.