Guide to Andalucia > Destinations > Córdoba

Córdoba

The capital of the province is a seductive city, full of monumental attractions, of which the most important is the Mezquita-Catedral, unique in Europe for its characteristics, an ostentatious Arabic structure in the middle of which was built a cathedral with elements of Gothic, Plateresque and Baroque. It is a construction that surprises us with its beautiful entrances and by the effects of light and colour wrought by nearly a thousand interior columns.

The large precinct sits imposingly above the surrounding white mansions of this small city of 300,000 inhabitants. The art of the Caliphate reached its dazzling peak with this mezquita, the third largest in the history of the world (although possibly overtaken in recent times), and today a Patrimonio de la Humanidad, a monument to human heritage, and completely justified in its nomination. It extends over a rectangular plan of more than 23,000 square metres enclosed by solid castellated walls.

Inside the intimate Patio de los Naranjos are its innumerable columns, with capitals of Roman, Paleochristian and including Byzantine designs, and over all the slender horseshoe arches.

Córdoba is a city to explore on foot, watching out from the narrow streets for the shady patios where dozens of plantpots and the most colourful and perfumed flowers that submerge us in a sweet atmosphere. In the ancient Jewish Quarter we can admire the former synagogue, and not much further the city gate of Almodóvar and the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos, with lovely gardens, and where we can admire the Caliphal baths and gothic vaults, but also mosaics that remind us of the important role the city held under the rule of Rome, as we remember as well the imposing ruins of a temple from the same era next to the Ayuntamiento.

With the conquest in the 13th century, Córdoba began to fill with churches that mark in general the transition from Romanesque to Gothic, of which conserve features from early Arabic structures. Santa Marina, San Miguel, San Lorenzo, San Pablo, La Magdalena, San Nicolás de la Villa… are the churches erected under Ferdinand, and which define the art of many of the Córdoba neighbourhoods.

But like every valued Andalucían city, it doesn´t lack Baroque detail, such as the superb Palacio de la Merced, today the seat of the Diputación Provincial (regional council).

The river bathes Córdoba, on one side keeping to almost all of the town centre, on the other the Campo de la Verdad and monuments such as the La Calahorra tower. The squares of Códoba are another vital element in the city, and oscillate between the solidity of the red-bricked La Corredera, once upon a time the setting for the city´s corridas, bullfights, to the naked beauty of Capuchinos, with the Cristo de los Faroles, passing by the Renaissance delight of the Plaza del Potro, fountains and buildings and in  museums like that of the Bellas Artes and Julio Romero de Torres. There are various other museums in the city, including the Arqueológico and the Taurino.

Among the public buildings we should record the ancient hospital de San Sebastián, today the Palacio de Congresos (conference centre), the Palacio de Viana, which includes nothing less than eleven patios and a garden, which impresses even in a city so rich in patios and intimate gardens as Córdoba.

Well connected for transport, with a rich calendar of events, Córdoba offers attractions to the traveller at any time of the year.

In recent years, the city has added to its many incentives an unusual development in its restaurant culture, which puts it, in the opinion of many, at the head of Andalucían gastronomy. Many and many very good restaurants, the renovation and rediscovery of ancient recipes (Mozarabic cuisine included) and relaunches of others very characteristic of Andalucían cookery, are the fundament of this remarkable expansion.