The Basilica of Santa Maria stands at the foot of Mount Benacantil in the oldest part of Alicante, and is the city's most venerated church. The current building dates mainly from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, though it was substantially remodelled in the seventeenth. The Baroque portal on the north facade is one of the finest in the Valencian region, richly carved with figures and ornamental stonework.
The interior is loftier and more austere than the exterior suggests — a tall single nave with Gothic vaulting, modest side chapels, and filtered light from high windows. The church houses a notable collection of liturgical silver and a large retablo. It sits in a pleasant square shaded by orange trees, a few minutes' walk from the old town's main streets and an easy combination with the castle above.