On the north side of the church is the fine Puerta de las Palmas, which probably derives its name from the fine relief representing the entry of Christ into Jerusalem. The exterior of the cathedral generally suffers from comparison with the older structure at its side.
The interior consists of a nave and two aisles. The centre of the nave is occupied by the choir, which is connected, as is usual in Spanish churches, with the Capilla Mayor by a railed-in passage. There are no projecting transept arms. Over the crossing is a lantern with a half-orange dome, eight windows between Corinthian columns, and a superabundance of ornamentation, which only too well announces this to be the handiwork of Churriguera. The nave is higher than the aisles. Both are pierced with windows, made intentionally small to exclude the light. In front of these runs a pierced balustrade of very Renaissance character, below which is a charming frieze in the older style, with cherubs and animals peeping through foliage. The piers that support the roof have their capitals painted in blue and gold. Above certain of the arches is displayed the Vase of Lilies with the Angelic Salutation, adopted as its arms by the chapter; above others the medallions with busts so common in the architecture of this period.
The Capilla Mayor still lacks the retablo which it is proposed one day to set up, and is backed by hangings and a canopy over the statue of the Virgin. In the sanctuary are the silver urns containing the remains of Saints Juan de Sahagun and Tomas de Villanueva; further back in the Capilla del Carmen the tomb of Bishop Jeronimo, transported here from the old cathedral in 1744, together with the famous Cristo de las Batallas, the crude black image carried by the Cid with him on all his expeditions. It must be confessed that few Spanish cathedrals contain a less remarkable Capilla Mayor than this one.
Nor is the choir specially remarkable, except as a specimen of Churriguera’s decorative frenzy. The stalls are carved with the figures of saints, full-length and half-length, in very stagy poses, though the boy-martyrs, Justus and Pastor, are, it must be confessed, very well executed. Wherever space permitted, cherubs, floral scrolls, and all sorts of decorative patterns have been put in. The _trascoro_ or altar at the rear of the choir surpasses the latter in the extravagance of its style. The Eternal Father, accompanied by angels, apostles, and prophets, may be seen amidst a profusion of clouds and foliage. The statues of St. Anne and St. John the Baptist obviously belong to an earlier period and a better school. They are attributed by Ponz to Juan de Juni, who was responsible for much of the ornamentation over the main entrance.