Nuestra Señora de la Asunción originates from the church of Santa Maria, which was built above the medieval mosque, near the town's Alcazaba, after the area had been conquered by Ferdinand III of Castile. The edifice is in Gothic-Renaissance style, with ogival arcades and pillars attributed to Hernán Ruiz the Elder, Hernán Ruiz the Younger (1556) and Hernán Ruiz III. The Gothic cross-vault ceiling is the oldest part of the church.
The Renaissance high altar (16th century) is attributed to Guillermo de Orta and Andrés de Castillejo, with paintings by Leonardo Enríquez de Navarra. Next to the altar is a small hexagonal chapel in Baroque style, from the early 18th century. Other artworks include the Roccoco case by the Cordoban goldsmith Damián de Castro, a large canvas of the Battle of Lepanto and a side Baroque portal in pink marble.
The tilting tower, begun in 1611 and finished in 1788, has a height of 55 meters.
References:The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.