Cuidadela has been Menorca’s religious capital since Arab times when Alfonso III conquered the island in 1287, one of his first acts was to have the main mosque reconsecrated as a church. The Catalan-Gothic structure took shape over the next 75 years, though part of the old mosque still remains in the ramp of the north tower, reminiscent of an Islamic minaret. The church finally gained its cathedral status in 1795, when a bishropic was restored to Cuidadela after an absence of 1300 years.
Outside, a stark, windowless wall, probably added after the Turkish raid on Cuidadela in 1558, leads to thick square buttresses. Inside, an aisle less nave leads to a pentagonal apse and a dozen side chapels. Most of the interior fittings were destroyed during the Spanish Civil War and what you see is heavily restored.
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