Baroque architecture has everything to do with breaking the rigid, classic patterns that the Renaissance's Herrera-style so fervently tried to achieve. Not everything had to have a structural purpose- columns, for example, could be decorative instead of acting as supports.
While much of Spain began to show signs of a forthcoming decline, Alicante carried on full speed ahead as a thriving port city- its architecture during this epoch proves it. Check out the impressive Baroque façade of the otherwise Gothic Iglesia de Santa María as well as the imposing Ayuntamiento (City Hall) and look for signature Baroque elements. Twisting columns, tons of adornment, the integration of sculpture, and ruptured forms such as the incomplete semi-circular fronton over the Ayuntamiento's windows are all examples of Baroque architecture at its purist.
