Palacio de Carlos V, A Renaissance Gem with a Unique Circular Courtyard

Alhambra

It looks like a square-shaped building from the outside

Introduction

Located in the Alhambra Palace in Granada, southern Spain, there is a Renaissance building called the Palace of Carlos V (Palacio de Carlos V). This palace was built in 1527 by the engineer Pedro Machuca. At that time, the Silver Smith style was popular in Spanish architecture, while this palace adopted a style that was very avant-garde at the time. The palace has two floors, the lower one using Tuscan columns and the upper one using Ionic columns. There is a circular courtyard inside, which was also a very novel design at the time. The lower level of the courtyard has a decorated Doric column arcade, while the upper level has an undecorated Ionic column arcade. The construction of the palace was initiated by Carlos V, who wanted to build a permanent residence near the Alhambra Palace that was fitting for an emperor. This idea was first proposed in 1492 when the Catholic monarchs conquered the city, and it had already changed some rooms in the Alhambra Palace.