This grand house of worship embodies the battle in Spanish architecture between the schools of "less is more" and "more is more." In 1580, Felipe II commissioned Juan de Herrera, architect of El Escorial, to construct a Renaissance cathedral on the ruins of a 13th-century church. Work stopped when Felipe died, and the next architect, Alberto Churriguera, brought his family's signature baroque style to the exterior decoration. The sober classical interior conforms to Herrera's designs. A highlight is the 1551 altarpiece in the main apsidal chapel, the work of Juan de Juni. The polychrome wood statues of this church are some of the finest anywhere in Spain.