The Basilica of Santa Maria is the oldest active church in

Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. It was built in

Valencian Gothic Valencian Gothic (; ) is an architectural style. It occurred under the Kingdom of Valencia between the 13th and 15th centuries, which places it at the end of the European Gothic period and at the beginning of the Renaissance. The term "Vale ...

style between the 14th and 16th centuries over the remains of a mosque. The basilica is composed from a single

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

with six side

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

s located between the

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ...

es. In 2007, by request of the city of Alicante to the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

, the church was promoted to the rank of

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

External links

Santa María Church. Alicante
by Federico Iborra Bernad and Arturo Zaragozá Catalán. GOTHICmed: A Virtual Museum of Mediterranean Gothic Architecture.
Iglesia de Santa María
Ayuntamiento de Alicante Buildings and structures in Alicante Santa Maria, Alicante Roman Catholic churches in the Valencian Community Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Province of Alicante Minor basilicas in Spain Religion in Alicante {{Valencia-geo-stub