The cathedral is located within the limits defined by a now missing portion of the medieval Moorish walls, the remains of which surround the nearby Alcazaba and the Castle of Gibralfaro.

The north tower is 84 metres (276 ft) high, making this building the second-highest cathedral in Andalusia, after the Giralda of Seville.

To defray the enormous expenses of the work, the Crown, after the War of Succession, imposed an excise duty or tax on the ships that called in Málaga, demanding an amount for each arroba of weight that they embarked.

The rest of the budget for port taxes was used to rehabilitate the roads of Vélez-Málaga, Antequera, bring water to Málaga through the aqueduct of San Telmo, the beginning of the road to Colmenar and Mount Pío of the 'Fellowship of Vinneros', mainly for widows, orphans of the militias that participated in the American Revolution.

This unfinished state has led to the cathedral being called "La Manquita", meaning in English, "The One-Armed Lady".