Astorga Cathedral

{{Short description|Roman Catholic church in Astorga, Spain}}

{{Infobox church

| name = Astorga Cathedral

| fullname = Cathedral of Saint Mary

| other name = {{lang|es|Catedral de Santa María}}

| image = Astorga Cathedral Façade.jpg

| caption = West façade in 2021.

| coordinates = {{coord|42|27|28|N|6|03|25|W|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}

| location = Astorga

| country = Spain

| denomination = Catholic

| address = Plaza de la Catedral

| website = {{URL|catedralastorga.com}}

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| status = Cathedral

| dedication = Mary, mother of Jesus

| dedicated date = 1069{{cite book |last=Reilly |first=Bernard |year=1989 |title=El reino de León y Castilla bajo el rey Alfonso VI (1065-1109) |trans-title=The Kingdom of León and Castile under King Alfonso VI (1065-1109) |language=Spanish |location=Toledo |publisher=Publicaciones del Instituto de Investigaciones y Estudios Toledanos |isbn=8487103030}}

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| architect = Juan de Colonia, Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón

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| style = Late Gothic (interior), Baroque (west façade)

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| groundbreaking = 1471

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| metropolis = Oviedo

| diocese = Astorga

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| bishop = Jesús Fernández González

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{{designation list

| embed = yes

| designation2 = Spain

| designation2_type = Non-movable

| designation2_criteria = Monument

| designation2_date = 3 June 1931

| designation2_number = RI-51-0000663

}}

}}

The Cathedral of Saint Mary (Spanish: Catedral de Santa María) is a Roman Catholic church in Astorga, Spain. It was declared a national monument in 1931.

The gothic edifice was begun in 1471, within the same walls of its Romanesque predecessors from the 11th-13th centuries. The construction lasted until the 18th century, thus to its original Gothic style appearance were added elements from later styles, such as the Neo-Classicist cloister (18th century), the Baroque towers, capitals and the façade, and the Renaissance portico. With a rectangular layout, with apsidal chapels, very clear and bright, it has an architectural closeness to German Gothic.

File:Astorga cathedral 2021 - interior.jpg

File:Astorga Cathedral 2021 - altar.jpg

The interior houses numerous artworks, such as the Flemish-Spanish retablo of St. Michael, and the large high altar by Gaspar Becerra (1558), considered a masterwork of the Spanish Renaissance sculpture. Other sculptures include the "Purísima" by Gregorio Fernández (1626), "St. John the Baptist and St. Jerome" by Mateo del Prado (17th century) and the "Christ of the Waters" (14th century).

Next to the church is the Neo-medieval Episcopal Palace, designed by Antoni Gaudí.