The outside of this cathedral looks highly restrained and can be stylistically placed within the framework of the later Renaissance and the early non-ornamented baroque styles. Built between 1616 and 1662 following plans by Agustín Bernardino, a disciple of Herrera, it still preserves traces of the cloister dating from the 15th century, showing a smaller former temple that was built over the ancient mosque. Inside, the cathedral is spaciously proportioned, with a delicate dome soaring to 45m above the floor.
There is a fine Communion chapel, considered one of the most beautiful examples of the high Spanish baroque. Within the same style are the doors of the cloister and the chapel of San Nicolás (1676), patron of the city, with an image of the saint, located in the centre of the apse and made by Juan de Villanueva. On the lower side is the reliquary bust of the Alicante St Felicitas (15th C) and on both sides are the co-patrons, St Rocco and San Francisco Javier.
Of note among the cathedral’s artistic heritage are the Retablo de las Animas (Nicolás Borrás, 1574), the Cristo de la Buena Muerte (Nicolás de Bussi, 17th C) and an Italian baldachin in marble and jade from 1688.
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