Carlos V Palace

Carlos V/Charles V, King of Spain and Emperor of Germany, decided to build his royal palace in the Alhambra, after he visited Granada following his wedding to Isabella of Portugal in Seville in 1526. The choice of this location was due to its symbolism, since it was the place where the King's palace in Granada had always been. At the same time, he was also sending the message of the Spanish victory over Muhammad’s religion to the Christian kings of Europe .

The Earl of Tendilla sought the financial means to cover the project with the taxes paid by the Moors in exchange for their right to keep living with some of their customs.

The Project was drafted by Pedro Machuca, an artist who was born in Toledo and formed in Michelangelo’s Rome. Machuca designed one of the most advanced projects developed in Europe at the time. From the outset, there was the strong desire to express a Roman-style architecture with the originality of a plant consisting of a circle inscribed within a square, all within a fully Renaissance architectural language.

Its implementation changed the face of the Alhambra, some facilities bordering on the Court of the Myrtles southern portico were destroyed.

A long construction

The works were suspended for 15 years as a consequence of Moorish rebellion in 1568. After Machuca’s death, his son Luis Machuca, succeeded him, being the author of the circular courtyard. But construction was pretty delayed. It begun in 1533 but would not be completed until 1957. Contemporary architects as Leopoldo Torres and Francisco Prieto Moreno took part in the project.

The palace has a square plan, structured around a circular courtyard with 32 columns and 42 meters in diameter, which are distributed around the palace premises. The circular courtyard is inspired by some Roman building projects carried out in the sixteenth century, of which only Vignola for Villa Capraola in Rome was carried out.

The downstairs gallery is covered with a barrel vault. The upper floor has a wood coffering made in 1957. The iconographic program of the palace is designed as a summary of the imperial project marked by battles fought by the emperor on land and at sea.

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Hotel America. It is placed in a privileged position, allowing you to enjoy the tranquility of the Alhambra without being away from downtown and other monuments like the Cathedral and the Royal Chapel.