Castillo de la Calahorra
Looming over the village of La Calahorra and the plateau of the Marquesado in the northern foothills of the Sierra Nevada is one of Andalucia's most emblematic and unusual fortresses, the haunting Castillo de La Calahorra. One of the first Italian Renaissance castles outside Italy and the first in Andalucia displaying these architectural features, it was constructed between 1509 and 1512 on the site of a former Moorish fortification. Its towers resembling four huge, squat pepperpots, it stands on a small knoll jutting up from the plain at the foot of the towering sierra. Given its somewhat featureless but forbidding exterior, the inside has some surprisingly lavish features including a beautiful Renaissance colonnaded courtyard delicately crafted from marble. The earth surrounding the castle has a characteristic reddish colour due to the presence of iron ore within it. The Catholic Monarchs awarded the castle as a tribute to Cardinal Mendoza, their influential advisor who played an important role in the Christian conquest of Granada. Cardinal Mendoza in turn signed it over to his illegitimate son, the first Marquis of Zenete. The Marquis subsequently travelled to Rome and befriended many legendary figures of the Renaissance, including the Pope's notorious daughter, Lucrezia Borgia, who he courted but failed to marry. He returned to Spain, accompanied by a team of Italian architects, sculptors and artists - and a cargo of Carrara marble to boot - and set about designing and crafting his fortified palace. But the Marquis was a tormented soul and plagued by ill luck due to his illegitimate status. Despite the public recognition by Cardinal Mendoza of his bastard son, the Marquis failed to gain support of members of the court, who refused to let him marry a young noblewoman. After abducting her to his distant retreat on the plain of Guadix, he was forced to leave his castle, Florentine courtyard and all, never to return.
Size: 5044px × 3350px
Location: La Calahora Spain
Photo credit: © David Wootton / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: alcazar, andalucia, calahora, calahorra, castillo, castle, fortress, granada, hill, italian, medieval, moor, moors, mountain, mountains, renaissance, spain, spanish, village
