Construction begins on the Cathedral of Granada in 1523.

Unlike most cathedrals in Spain, construction of this cathedral had to await the acquisition of the Nasrid kingdom of Granada from its Muslim rulers in 1492; while its very early plans has Gothic designs, such as are evident in the Royal Chapel of Granada by Enrique Egas, the construction of the church in the main occurs at a time when Spanish Renaissance designs are supplanting the Gothic regnant in Spanish architecture of prior centuries.

Foundations for the church have been laid by the architect Egas starting from 1518 to 1523 atop the site of the city's main mosque.