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After finishing the works of the transept the Bishop Fray Diego de Mardones decides to build a mam altar piece. A lot of masters were called for choosing the most suitable project, which would like to the church government. The elected was the design done by Alonso Matías, who was part of The Society of Jesus. Matías was a cultured and educated man, he knew many Italian artists such as Alberti, Vitrubio, Palladio and Vignola.
The Brother Matías's project was characteristic for the use of different marbles, bronzes and their motivation was economical. Córdoba had and has a lot of places; Cabra, Luque or Carabuey where the marbles are extracted. These were used, since the past, by our city for a great number of buildings.
For extracting the different marbles Luis González Bailén was contracted. The works begun in 1618, but a great number of problems obliged the Brother Matías to be transferred to another city in August 1625 . From Montilla, Matías wrote to the Cabildo Catedralicio (Government of the Church) proposing then how to continue the works of the altarpiece, and advising then Luis González Bailén to continue the works. In June 1627, Juan de Aranda Salazar, who worked since the move of Brother Matías, was named to continue the works finished the works in stone in May 1629. In 1653 a eucaristal temple was added to this.
The Main Altarpiece of Córdoba was compared to this one of the Church of Monastery in Saint Lawrence (San Lorenzo de El Escorial - Madrid), made by great architect Juan de Herrera. In fact, both are made in marble, and they are with a big custody.
The Brother Matías used a great base, on which, he projected as a giant with four columns that divides first part into three streets. On these, he carried out a broken entablature with bronze vegetable decoration and he put it at the same height as the Hernán Ruiz I the Old’s one that covered the whole head of the Chapel. In this way a large attic remains, similar to the first body, though only in the central street.
The original picture were painted by Cristóbal de Vela Cobos, were substituted by the nowadays ones; work done by Asisclo Antonio Palomino, original from Bujalance, restigious author for this quality. Nowadays there five pictures, four of which occupy the lateral streets of the first body and the attic; they represent the cordovan marthirs, of the Roman Period, Saint Asisclus and Saint Victory the patrons of Córdoba, and two of the Muslim Period: Saint Pelagius and Saint Flora. The other pictures represents the Assumption of the Virgin Mary that in the past was avocation of the Cathedral. The sculptures situated at the end of attic, on the columns, giant, were made by painter Pedro Fraile Ladrón de Guevara and it represents The Pillars of the Church, Saint Peter and Saint Paul.
We will finish this study, with the main mage of the altarpiece, the Custody or Little Temple. This was performed in 1653 by Sebastián Vidal with Alonso Matías’s help. Divided into two parts, the first has a squared plan, the second a circle one, ending the vault with lantern. It is thought that Matías was inspired by Juan de Herrera's custody did to Saint Lawrence of El Escorial years ago.
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