The Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar is Zaragoza's most important building and one of the great pilgrimage churches of Spain. Built in the 17th and 18th centuries on a site associated with a legendary apparition of the Virgin Mary, it dominates the Plaza del Pilar with its enormous Baroque bulk — eleven domes, four towers, and a facade that stretches along the Ebro riverfront for nearly 150 metres.
Inside, the scale becomes overwhelming. The central nave runs almost 130 metres long and is decorated throughout with frescoes, including work by Goya on two of the side chapels (look for the Adoration of the Name of God in the Coreto). The pillar itself — the marble column the Virgin is said to have stood on — stands in the Chapel of the Pillar, encased in silver and jewels. A small window allows pilgrims to press their lips to the back of the pillar; a queue usually forms. Admission to the main church is free; the side tower and roof terraces require a small ticket.