1. Palace of Charles V2. Apartments of Emperor Charles V: Queen’s Rooms and Closet3. Church of Santa María de la Alhambra4. Convent of San Francisco (now Parador Nacional)5. Generalife (Renaissance Gardens)6. Walled precinct (Bastions – Tendilla Cistern – Gate of the Seven Floors and Gate Of Justice)7. Basin of Charles V8. Gate of the Pomegranates – Russet Towers and Ravelin9. Plaza Nueva – Chancellery10. Church of Santa Ana1112. Monastery of Santa Isabel La Real – Palace of Dar Al-Horra13. Hospital of San Juan de Dios14. Royal Monastery of San Jerónimo15. Cathedral16. The Madrasa17. Ecclesiastical Curia18. Plaza de Bibarrambla, Alcaicería and Zacatín19. Imperial Church of San Matías20. Casa de los Tiros21. Royal Chapel and Merchants’ Exchange
Castril House
This house on Carrera del Darro is laid out on a plan complete with an entrance hall, a staircase leading to a raised courtyard with columned porticoes, a main staircase in one corner of the courtyard with a Mudejar timber framework ceiling of considerable quality, and a garden behind. The house belonged to the Castril family, the heirs to the influential secretary of the Catholic Monarchs, Hernando de Zafra, and its construction dates from 1539. Emblazoned on the sandstone façade is their coat-of-arms with the image of the Comares Tower in the Alhambra, a device granted to Hernando de Zafra by Ferdinand and Isabella in recognition of his leading role in the capitulations which put an end to the war of Granada, and which were negotiated in that tower. The rest of the rich decorative programme on the façade is related to original designs by Diego de Siloé, an artist trained in Italy who also designed the High Chapel of Granada Cathedral, although it was probably executed by masons who were less well versed in the decorative arts than the master from Burgos. At the north-east corner is a false balcony crowned by a frieze with the enigmatic inscription "Esperándola del cielo" ("Waiting for her from heaven"), which has given rise to various interpretations that have more to do with legend than reality. The ornamentation is arranged in a series of horizontal strips with lateral pilasters marking each storey, and consists of forms and motifs taken from classical repertoires, laden with symbolism and heraldic connotations. The building is a fine example of the mixture of tradition and classicism in 16th century Granadine architecture, which equipped the former capital of the Nasrid kingdom with a new artistic language expressing a new age and a new culture. It now houses the Archaeological Museum of Granada.
The Castril House is a perfect example of the synthesis of diverse cultural influences that come together in the city of Granada during the first third of the 16th century. On the one hand, its architectural type is that of a Castilian mansion, with a fully decorated façade and a characteristic corner balcony, while on the other hand it adapts ornamental forms and motifs of an unorthodox Renaissance classicism to make room for figurative elements from the Islamic world, such as the Nasrid war shield alongside the Roman arms common in the classical repertoire. The principal emblematic motif, emblazoned on the keystone of the entrance arch, is meanwhile the Comares Tower, the most important tower of the Alhambra, and the origin of the noble title granted to the Marquess of Comares, the descendant of the builder and original owner of the house. Significantly, the house stands on Carrera del Darro beneath that very tower. This interplay of references indicates the esteem in which the Islamic monument was held by the conquering Christian aristocracy.
