Royal Hospital

The Royal Hospital is located between Real de Cartuja, Ancha de Capuchinos and Hospice Avenue, occupying the site of an old Nazari cementery.

 It was founded by privilege granted by the Catholic Kings in Medina del Campo on September 15, 1504 to replace the original hospital, located in The Alhambra, which housed patients with syphilis. Since 1536, it was also used to house mentally disabled people.

 Construction began in the 1511 but works were stopped following King Fernando’s death until Emperor Carlos V resumed them in 1522. Artists such as Enrique Egas, Machuca or Diego de Siloe were involved in the projection of this magnificent building.

 Renaissance design

 It has Greek cross plan framed in a box in whose corners there are four symmetrical courtyards or patios that articulate four modules, with a dome over the crossing. The Hospital follows the model designed by Italian architect Filarete at Milano Hospital. Its initial project was a four-storey building, but eventually only two of them were built plus a third floor at the southwestern angle. Styles such as Gothic, Mudejar or Renaissance are mixed on it, something very common in Spain at that time.

 The crossing is the intersection of the four modules. It is divided in two stories, the lower is covered by a rib vault and the upper one by a wooden vault.

 The lower floor premises are covered with alfarje, mixing Gothic, Mudejar and Renaissance elements. The upper floor premises are in Mudejar style decorated with laces and mocarabes or stalactites.

 The hallway features a rectangular plan with flat-paneled ceiling and beams resting on blocks with gallons.

 The courtyards

 Only two out of four projected courts or patios were finished. They can be accessed through side doors. The courtyard known as “Los Marmoles” is the most elaborated one. It features rounded arches on high Tuscan columns. In the spandrels the initials of Catholic Kings and the Emperor can be seen together with the emblem of the yoke and arrows.

 The one called “Patio de la Capilla” is the only one that was never finished. It features double gallery with rounded arches on both porticos, supported by Doric columns on the ground floor and Corinthian on the top. It is also decorated with the emblems and initials of its patrons. The church, which disappeared, could be accessed through this courtyard. In its altarpiece there was a cross-shaped reliquary that contained the prisoner chains of San Juan de Dios.

 The facade

 The main facade is situated in Hospicio Avenue. It features four windows decorated with the initials and crests of Catholic Monarchs and the Emperor.

 The facade is carved in Elvira stone in the center and was executed in 1632. It features a vain lintel flanked by four Corinthian columns with entablature decorated with yokes and arrows.

 The second body is composed by a central niche with the Virgin’s image flanked by sculptures of the founders. It was performed by Alonso de Mena.

It is surmounted by broken curved pediment from which the royal crest protrudes. This crest is supported by the eagle, symbol of Saint John the Evangelist.

 After the Ecclesiastical Confiscations of Mendizabal in 1835, the Hospital became managed by the Provincial Government, adapted as Nursing Home and Psiquiatric Hospital.

 Nowadays it is central seat for Granada University, its premises hold various exhibitions and events. It has been classified as Cultural Interest Site.

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