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The Capilla Real (April-Sept Mon-Sat 10.30am-1pm & 4-7pm, Sun 11am-1pm & 4-7pm; Oct-March Mon-Fri 10.30am-1pm, Sat & Sun 11am-1pm; ?2.10), in the centre of town at the southern end of Gran Via de Colon, is an impressive building, flamboyant late Gothic in style and built ad hoc in the first decades of Christian rule as a mausoleum for Los Reyes Catolicos, the city's "liberators". The actual tombs are as simple as could be imagined: Fernando (marked with an "F") and Isabel, flanked by their daughter Joana ("the Mad") and her husband Felipe ("the Handsome"), resting in lead coffins placed in a plain crypt. But above them - the response of their grandson Carlos V to what he found "too small a room for so great a glory" - is a fabulously elaborate monument carved in Carrara marble by Florentine Domenico Fancelli in 1517, with sculpted Renaissance effigies of the two monarchs; the tomb of Joana and Felipe alongside is a much inferior work by Ordonez. In front of the monument is an equally magnificent reja , the work of Maestro Bartolome of Baeza, and a splendid retablo behind depicts Boabdil surrendering the keys of Granada. Isabel, in accordance with her will, was originally buried on the Alhambra hill (in the church of San Francisco, now part of the parador ) but her wealth and power proved no safeguard of her wishes. The queen's final indignity occurred during the 1980s when the candle that she asked should perpetually illuminate her tomb was replaced by an electric bulb - it was restored in 1999 following numerous protests. In the Capilla's Sacristy is displayed the sword of Fernando, the crown of Isabel and her outstanding personal collection of medieval Flemish paintings - including important works by Memling, Bouts and van der Weyden - and various Italian paintings, including panels by Botticelli and Pedro Berruguete. For all its stark Renaissance bulk, Granada's Catedral , adjoining the Capilla Real and entered from the door beside it (April-Sept Mon-Sat 10.45am- 1.30pm & 4-7pm, Sun 4-7pm; Oct-March Mon-Sat 10.30am-1.30pm, Sun 4-7pm; ?2.10), is a disappointment. It was begun in 1521, just as the chapel was finished, but was then left incomplete well into the eighteenth century. At least it's light and airy inside, though, and it's fun to go round putting coins in the slots to light up the chapels, where an El Greco St Francis and sculptures by Pedro de Mena and Montanes will be revealed. Other churches have more to offer, and with sufficient interest you could easily fill a day of visits. North of the cathedral, ten minutes' walk along c/San Jeronimo, the Baroque San Juan de Dios , with a spectacular retablo , is attached to a majestically portalled hospital (still in use; porter will allow a brief look). Close by is the elegant Renaissance Convento de San Jeronimo (April-Sept Mon-Sat 10am-1.30pm & 4-7.30pm, Sun 11am-1.30pm; Oct-March Mon-Sat 10am-1.30pm; ?2.10), founded by the Catholic kings, though built after their death, with two imposing patios and a wonderful frescoed church. Lastly, on the northern outskirts of town, is La Cartuja (April-Sept Mon-Sat 10am-1pm & 4-8pm, Sun 10am-noon & 4-8pm; Oct-March Mon-Sat 10am-1.30pm, Sun 10am-noon; ?2.10), perhaps the grandest and most outrageously decorated of all the country's lavish Carthusian monasteries. It was constructed at the height of Baroque extravagance - some say to rival the Alhambra - and has a chapel of staggering wealth, surmounted by an altar of twisted and coloured marble. It's a further ten- to fifteen-minute walk beyond San Juan de Dios (or take bus #8 or #C from the centre going north along Gran Via).
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