DK Travel : Costa Blanca : Architecture

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Casino, Torrevieja

Torrevieja’s celebrated seafront casino is one of the purest examples of Modernista architecture in the region. The highlight is the Mozarabic salon, with a fabulous carved wooden ceiling, horseshoe arches and shimmering mosaic tiling.
Catedral de Santa María, Murcia

Murcia’s impressive cathedral is best known for its flamboyant, sculpture-encrusted façade and florid bell tower.
Churrigueresque

The Baroque style at its most ornate and overblown.
Círculo Industrial, Alcoi (Alcoy)

Alcoi, still a busy industrial town, has several Modernista buildings. The Círculo Industrial (1868) was one of the earliest. Particularly worthy of note are the flowing ironwork and ceramic details in its fine salons and library. Designed as a cultural centre, it still hosts art exhibitions and the occasional concert.
Colegiata Basílica de Santa María, Xàtiva (Játiva)

The grandest church in this “City of Popes” was begun in 1596, but remains unfinished. The façade was finally constructed in 1916; the second bell tower (proposed 300 years ago) has yet to be built.
Colegio de Santo Domingo, Orihuela

Often dubbed the “El Escorial of the East” after the celebrated royal palace near Madrid, this enormous complex was built between the 16th and 18th centuries.
Concatedral de San Nicolás de Bari, Alicante (Alacant)

Dedicated to the city’s patron saint, Alicante’s vast cathedral (see Concatedral de San Nicolás) was built in the sober Herreran style. Its most striking feature is the graceful cupola almost 50 m (164 ft) high.
Ex-colegiata de San Patricio, Lorca

This splendid church commemorates victories against the Arabs on the feast day of San Patricio in 1452. Begun in the mid-16th century, it was given a thorough Baroque overhaul in the 18th.
Gothic (c.1250–1550)

Typical features: elaborate masonry and woodwork, pointed arches and exterior flying buttresses.
Gran Hotel, Cartagena

Crowned with its trademark golden cupola, the most emblematic Modernista building in the whole of Cartagena, the opulent Gran Hotel, was begun in 1907 by Tomás Rico and completed by the indefatigable Victor Beltrí. Every window and archway is surrounded with swooping stone garlands. It is no longer a hotel, and visitors must be content with admiring its exterior.