Badajoz "el Viejo" ("the Elder") became the new director of the episcopal workshop, starting the construction of a prominent narthex which would form a spacious passage, working as a covered street: it must be reminded that the original surroundings of Oviedo Cathedral were cluttered with houses, and the walkable areas were very narrow, so this street-like narthex provided an interesting, urbanistic solution. Initially, this narthex was going to be topped by two twin towers, but after 1507 the Oviedo episcopate decided to build only a tower, which would be erected over the narthex's Southern gate: despite traditional accounts, this decision did not respond to a lack of funds, because the cathedral was actually a well-financed workshop. Indeed, the erection of a huge, single bell tower instead of two smaller twin towers, was a popular solution during the Late Middle Ages in places like Southern Germany, Switzerland and the Atlantic coast of France. Oviedo Cathedral's magnificent tower was finished in 1551, after the consecutive intervention of master builders Pedro de Bueras, Pedro de la Tijera and Juan de Cerecedo "el Viejo" ("the Elder"): in 1575, lightning destroyed the original pierced spire, which was rebuilt by Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón combining Gothic and Renaissance elements. The main chapel's altarpiece, which combines statuary and paintings in a gilded, wooden frame, is an excellent example of the transition from Late Gothic to Renaissance. During the Early Modern period, Oviedo Cathedral received new additions, including the ambulatory (designed by Juan de Naveda and built in the first years of the 17th century), as well as the sacristy and several Baroque side chapels (Capilla de Santa Bárbara, Capilla de los Vigiles, Capilla de Santa Eulalia de Mérida). In the 18th century, the adjacent church of Santa María del Rey Casto—an old, pre-Romanesque basilica built by king Alfonso II as a funerary pantheon for the Asturian monarchy—was torn down and replaced by a new, late Baroque chapel with exuberant decoration. The Early Modern period also saw the furnishing of the cathedral with several altarpieces. The major restoration of the cathedral complex was initiated with preliminary studies in 1995 at the request of the Principality of Asturias. Under the sponsorship of the Spanish National Plan for Cathedrals (), the complex was restored from 1998 to 2002 for a total budget of . Cámara Santa The cathedral was also called Sancta Ovetensis; owing to quantity and quality of relics