Palace of Charles V, Granada (must see)

Inside the Nasrid fortification of the Alhambra, well fed cats peer dispassionately at The visitors who come from all over the world. The visitors take pictures of the cats. Then they pass through the lush flower gardens to the Palace of the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V. The palace, begun in 1527, was not completed until the 20th century.

Charles was not only an emperor, he was a king. He was ruler of Spain and most of Southern Europe. He had palaces galore, but he needed a summer place. Ferdinand and Isabella had taken rooms at the Alhambra. He needed something new.

He chose Pedro Machuca as architect. Pedro had studied with Michelangelo. He would create something unique, something Italian. The palace is stylistically Mannerist. At that time Mannerism was all the rage in Italy. The exterior is a mix of rusticated stone on the first floor and ashlar smoothness above. The building was avant-garde, unique in Spain.

The palace is a square with a circular patio within. The roof has a circular opening above the patio. The patio is enclosed in two levels. A Doric colonnade encircles the lower level. The upper level is wrapped in a stylized Ionic colonnade. The visitors entering the patio are surprised, having passed from the square to the circle.

Charles never lived in the palace. As the visitors leave they pass through the gardens again. The cats watch them go.