Between 1075 and 1211 was built the greatest church in the Iberian Peninsula, with help from craftsmen such as Bernardo el Viejo, Esteban, and later Maestro Mateo.
The original church was consecrated in the presence of King Alfonso IX in 1211, addition were made over the years: the Baroque towers, ornate doorways, chapels and alters – this all combined to make Santiago Cathedral the most important monument to Spanish art in the middle ages.
The existing botafumeiro was built in 1851 it is made from silver plated brass and it is only brought into use for major ceremonies. The central nave also contains pulpits carved in the 16th century by Juan Bautista Celma, this displays scenes from the life of the Apostle.
In the main chapel is side chamber containing a statu of St James carved in polychrome stone above a gilt baldachin wrought by Jose Vega Verdugo in 1665. Visitors should walk up the ambulatory to touch and kiss the cape donated in his lifetime Monroy. In the opposite direction, a stairway leads down from the ambulatory to the crypt where the remains of St James and his disciples Teodoro and Anastasio rest in a silver urn made by goldsmiths of Santiago in 1886. The crypt was refurbished and opened to the public in the Jubilee year of 1885.
Besides this main part there are also a number of chapels of tremendous historic interest. There are from right to left: Chapel of El Pilar, began by Domingo de Andrade, containing the tomb of Archbishop Monroy in a setting of marble and jasper; the Mondragon Chapel, containing an altar piece with pieta and a marvelous French grille work forged by Guillaume Bourse in the 16th century; chapel of La Azucena, also known as the chapel of Dona Mencia, its founder whose tomb lies there adorned with handsome sculptures. This chapel comes just before the Porta Santa. Next, the chapel of El Salvador stands at the exact point where building of the cathedral began.
Continuing the tour is the chapel of Nuestra Senora la Blanca with the tombs of the Espana family, and the strikingly baroque chapel of Saint John the Apostle. The chapel of San Bartolme still retains it Romanesque lines and is one of the most outstanding sculptural ensembles in Compostela. Next are the chapels of the Concepcio and the Espiritu Santo within which lie several Gothic and Renaissance tombs.
The Capela da Corticela, pre Romanesque in origin, is one of the most interesting corners of the cathedral, its sumptuous décor includes The Adoration of the Magi a work by Maestro Mateo crowning the door. Past the Baroque altars of the chapels of San Andres and San Antonio is the chapel of Santa Catalina, shrine to the Virgin of Lourdes. By its side is the tympanum of Clavijo, antechamber of the neoclassical chapel of La Comunion, containing a fine sculpture of the Virgin del Perdon and the tombs of Lope de Mendoza and the prelate Bartolome Rajoy. Finally the chapel of El Cristo de Burgos contains a copy of the famous Christ Crucified.