The Cathedral of Valencia (officially the Basílica Catedral de Nuestra Señora del Socorro) stands on the south side of Plaza Bolívar. The first chapel on the site dates from 1580; the present building grew through successive rebuilds from the seventeenth century onward and was elevated to a cathedral when the diocese was created in 1922. The bell tower, finished in 1782, is the most distinctive element of the otherwise restrained facade.
The interior is calmer and more elegant than the exterior suggests. The most-venerated image is the small statue of the Virgen del Socorro on the high altar, patroness of Valencia since the late sixteenth century. The cathedral hosts the major processions of Holy Week and the patronal feast of 13 November, when the image is carried through the streets and the surrounding plazas fill with sweet stalls and music.