Cordoba Guide.
Information about Cordoba, Spain.

Cordoba information

The capital of this province is a seductive city with many attractive monuments like the Cathedral/Mosque which is the largest one of its kind in Europe. It comprises a lavish mosque in which a cathedral of Gothic, Baroque and Plateresque elements has been built. It is a fascinating building which offers surprising light and colour effects as well as beautiful doors and nearly a thousand columns.

Cordoba is a city which must be seen on foot so that as we wander through the narrow streets we can peep into the shady patios where dozens of potted plants and the most colourful, scented flowers engulf us with their sweet aroma. In the old Jewish quarter we can admire the one-time Synagogue, and not very far away the Gate of Almodovar and the Alcazar of the Christians Kings which has beautiful gardens and is also where you can admire Caliph baths and pointed vaults. The Roman mosaics remind us of a Roman temple which lay next to the town hall.

With the conquest in the 13th Century Cordoba began to be filled with churches which, in general, show the transition from Romanesque to Gothic style and some of them still conserve remains of the primitive Arabic constructions. Santa María, San Miguel, San Lorenzo, San Pablo, La Magdalena, San Nicolas de la Villa: these are the "fernandina" churches which define the art of the many different quarters of Cordoba. However, like all self- respecting Andalusian cities, there are many Baroque features such as the superb Palace of La Merced which is today the Provincial Council head-quarters.

The river runs through Cordoba with the inner city area on one side and on the other the Campo de la Verdad and monuments such as the Tower of La Calahorra. Cordoba's squares are another vital element of the city and vary from the solid, red-brick Corredera, which in times gone by was the setting for bullfighting, to the naked beauty of Capuchinos with its Cristo de los Faroles. We then move on to the delightful Renaissance Square of the Potro with a fountain and buildings in which the Fine Arts Museum and the Museum of Julio Romero de Torres can be found. There are, in fact, several more museums in the city including the Archaeological Museum and the Museum of Bullfighting.

Among the civil buildings the old Hospital of San Sebastian, now a conference centre must not be missed. There is also the Palace of Viana which includes no less than eleven patios and a garden, all of which are outstanding, even in a city as reach in patios and formal gardens as is Cordoba. Cordoba, a university city, is well-linked by road and rail, has a good range of recently renovated hotels and also a rich varied calendar which offers many attractions to the visitor all the year.