The Co-cathedral of Santa María is the main church of Cáceres, built in the Gothic style over the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries on a site that was previously a mosque. Its tower, deliberately left incomplete in the late medieval period, has become one of the landmarks of the Ciudad Monumental — shorter than it might have been, but no less imposing.
The interior is simple and austere in the Extremaduran Gothic manner — vast stone columns, low light through narrow windows, and the accumulated monuments and chapels of Cáceres's noble families competing for space along the aisles. The carved wooden choir stalls are excellent. The sacristy contains several notable paintings.
The church occupies the highest point of the old city, and the steps in front of it — the Plaza de Santa María — form a natural gathering place. Sit here in the evening to watch the swifts spiral over the towers as the sky darkens.