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 – Chancellery1011. Castril House12. 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
Church of Santa Ana
After the conquest of the kingdom of Granada, it became necessary to provide the city with the infrastructure required by a place that was now Christian. This led to the creation of parish churches. That of Santa Ana is an example of the Mudejar style of ecclesiastical construction in 16th century Granada.
These churches combine Hispano-Muslim construction techniques, especially the use of materials like brick for the fabric, wood for the ceilings and glazed ceramics for the decoration, with specifically Castilian types of building and ornamentation, though these were normally limited to the portal, made of stone and decorated with Renaissance-style motifs. This tendency was adopted for reasons of economy and versatility, since the use of very inexpensive and abundant materials meant that the churches could be built quickly.
Located on the former site of the "Al-hama Almanzora" mosque, the construction of Santa Ana began in 1537 to plans by Diego de Siloé. It has a rectangular plan with a single aisleless nave, five side chapels on each side, and a raised high chapel. The single nave is covered by a double-hipped timber framework, and the high chapel by an eight-sided wooden ceiling.
The portal, designed by Sebastián de Alcántara in 1542, consists of a round arch flanked by fluted Corinthian columns with the arms of Archbishop Niño de Guevara in the spandrels. Over the entablature is a tondo with images of the Virgin and Child.
The tower has round-arched openings framed by alfiz mouldings with white and blue tiles, which also cover the pyramidal roof that crowns it.
A great many masters took part in the construction of the church, constituting an example of a collective guild project of a type going back to the Middle Ages. Special attention is merited by the production of glazed roof and wall tiles under the direction of a woman, María de Robles.
One fundamental aspect of the social and urban transformation of the Islamic city of Granada into Christian Granada was the assimilation of the Moorish population who did not leave the city, and at the same time the administrative organisation of the urban area into districts or "collaciones" along the lines of mediaeval Christian cities, with each district governed by its parish church. This involved the construction ex novo of a fair number of churches. While these retained the functional type of an aisleless church with a high altar at the east end, Moorish techniques, materials and labour were combined in their construction, from the third decade of the 16th century onwards, with significant elements from the classicism then dominant, especially prominent in the portals. One fine example is this church of Santa Ana, whose stylised tower clearly evokes Islamic minarets. Apart from the decoration of glazed ceramic, other features with Muslim roots include the roofing of the nave and presbytery with Nasrid-style carpentry, whereas the portal displays a simple but correct classical composition.
This hybrid of oriental and western aesthetics in the construction is a result of the strategy initiated by Fray Hernando de Talavera, the first archbishop of Granada, who introduced various elements of Moorish culture into liturgies and preaching as an aid to the Christianisation of the Moriscos.
