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

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.

Orihuela’s Gothic cathedral of pale, creamy stone was begun in the 14th century. There is exquisite sculptural detail inside and out. Two beautiful wrought-iron grills enclose the choir, with its magnificent Baroque organ, and the main altar.

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.

Celebrated for its performances of the Misteri d’Elx (see Misteri d’Elx (Elche) (Mystery of Elx)), the monumental Basílica de Santa María was built between 1672 and 1783, replacing an earlier church built on the ruins of a former mosque.

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.

This delightful church was built on the ruins of Al-Lekant’s main mosque before the Reconquest. The soaring interior is in the purest Gothic style. The frothy façade was added in 1713.

The fortress-church of San Bartolomé was begun in 1513, when the coastline was under constant attack from pirates, but the golden Tosca stone and its faded sculptural decoration make it truly charming.

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.

Once one of the most affluent cities of the old Kingdom of Valencia, Callosa de Segura possesses one of the finest Renaissance churches in Spain.