Valencia’s cathedral was built over a mosque after the 1238 reconquest. Its low, wide, brick-vaulted triple nave is mostly Gothic, with neoclassical side chapels. Highlights are its Museo Catedral, rich Italianate frescoes above the altarpiece, a pair of Goyas in the Capilla de San Francisco de Borja and, in the flamboyant Gothic Capilla del Santo Cáliz, what’s claimed to be the Holy Grail from which Christ sipped during the Last Supper. Admission includes an audio guide.
The Grail is a Roman-era agate cup, later modified, so at least the date is right. It is framed by an elaborate late Gothic alabaster screen. Other noteworthy features around the interior include a well-executed San Sebastián by Pedro de Orrente in the chapel named after the saint; the much-revered Virgen del Coro sculpture in the ambulatory; the creepy hand of San Vicente opposite; and the beautiful transitional altarpiece by Vicente Macip in the nearby Capilla de San Dionisio y Santa Margarita.
Goya's paintings depict the 16th-century aristocrat Francisco de Borja, who gave away the ducal life to become a Jesuit.
In the southwest corner is the entrance to the bell tower, El Miguelete. Climb its 207 spiraling steps for terrific 360-degree views.
As it has done for more than 1000 years, the Tribunal de las Aguas (Water Court) meets every Thursday exactly at noon outside the cathedral’s Gothic Puerta de los Apóstoles. Here, Europe’s oldest legal institution settles local farmers’ irrigation disputes in valenciano, the regional language.
