I first saw a photograph of the castle at La Calahorra many years ago and was fascinated by it’s unique shape and solitary location.

Now, living in Andalucia, I found myself driving across the moonscape region of Guadix in Granada province and just 20 kms or so further on La Calahorra appeared as an isolated and inhospitable fortress silhouetted in the sunlight against the snowcapped peaks of the Sierra Nevada.

The old Moorish village of La Calahorra is close to the Puerto de la Ragua, the pass crossing the Sierra Nevada National Park down to the Mediterranean, and the castle dominates the village’s whitewashed houses and narrow streets just a stone’s throw below.

It’s exact origins are unknown but there was an old Arab fortress on the site at the time of the Reconquest following which it fell into the hands of the wealthy and influential Mendoza family.

At that time, it was customary for the Catholic Kings to show gratitude to those who helped them in the Reconquest and in 1492 they gave the 8 villages of Zenete which included La Calahorra and it’s fortress to Cardenal D. Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza for his loyalty in the Christian taking of Baza in 1489 and Granada in 1492. This property and surrounding lands became known as the Marquesado of Zenete. Following his death in 1495, his son Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar y de Mendoza, inherited these lands and buildings and became the Marques of Zenete.

Today, La Calahorra is valued as an important example of early Andalucian Renaissance architecture, born at the beginning of the 16th century. With architectural tastes changing the wealthy Spanish nobility embraced the artistic and elegant Renaissance style of the Italians resulting in several Renaissance style castle-palaces constructed on the sites of old Arab fortresses in Andalucia.
Don Rodrigo was cultured and imaginative and responsible for transforming the old fortress of La Calahorra into an elegant home for his wife and two children. He had spent much time in Italy and completely immersed himself in the literary and artistic atmosphere of Genoa and Florence, This experience impacted greatly on his plans to construct a Renaissance style castle-palace where a luxurious and elegant interior would be located inside an austere and warlike exterior.

Work began around 1509 and he brought craftsmen and sculptors from Genova and Lombardy. The architect Michele Carlone of Genoa was employed to create this seductive and exquisite palace that would contrast starkly with the rustic exterior which was designed and constructed by Andalucian architects.

The castle-palace is perched on top of a stony hilltop and although there are steps up from the village I decided to drive up the rough track and park right alongside the huge walls. These are made of solid blocks of local stone known as ashlar, reddened with dust over the centuries from the ironore mines at Alquife. The steps from the back of the village were steep and uneven and would probably take about 20 minutes with care.

I felt whisked back into history as I stood and looked up at the severe exterior walls of La Calahorra which was once a symbol of the nobility in the Marquesado. The sturdy towers were not square in the medieval style but round, and topped with cupolas. They linked the walls that had clearly been built for artillery and had very few openings. The only small exterior windows on the upper floor were three to the south and three to the west. The rectangular form on the dungeons with tiny round airholes just above ground level can be seen jutting out from the western wall – it looks as though it was an afterthought. The only entrance is on the eastern wall, a double door decorated above with the coat of arms of Rodrigo’s wife Maria de Fonesca. It looks and feels quite small and out of proportion and just below this door is the remaining stretch of the original surrounding wall.

I was told about Antonio, a local man who’s family has been connected to the wellbeing of the castle for many years. He is the guide/keyholder and would give me a first class tour, in Spanish.

I couldn’t wait to get through this comparatively little door! Once inside, and standing in an enclosed courtyard I knew the proportions were right.
I felt now as though I was inside a very special and exquisite home. Straight ahead leading up to the first floor gallery was a fine well conserved marble staircase which was imported directly from Carrara.
The ground and first floors are built around a stunning patio with rounded arches supported by Corinthian columns, reputedly all brought over from Italy in 1200 sections. The latin inscriptions and coats of arms you can see around the walls of the patio represent the union between the Mendoza and Fonesca families. The different rooms I was to pass through were decorated in many varied forms from

Off this stunning central patio, we passed through the Sala de Armas with it’s fine 500 year old ornate wooden ceiling and arched windows opening on to the patio for daylight. Upstairs was the Sala de Justicia, the court room with its massive fireplace sitting at one end. Adjoining are the bedrooms of the Marques, the dining room and the bedroom of the Marquesa where sadly all the ceilings have been plundered for firewood.
There is a washroom complete with chimney, dressing room and stairs down to the Patio de la Dama , a delightful private courtyard overlooked by a balcony with original wooden beams. There are three further bedrooms on this floor that adjoin the kitchen complete with it’s original fireplace. The well worn ceramics on the floor are all that remain in the tiny sewing room and next to that is a further small guest bedroom.

Antonio explained how in that period, the higher the status of the guest, the higher up in the house his bedroom would be, probably to escape the heat and the fumes of below stairs!

The huge reception room was not disappointing either and it didn’t take much for me to imagine how it would look complete with fashionable and sumptuous furnishings to complement the huge gatherings, banquets and fiestas that had taken place there.

Don Rodrigo de Vivar died in 1523 and the property fell back into the hands of the Crown. It was used as a barracks for the King’s half brother, Don Juan of Austria and his troops when he helped put down the Morisco rebellion in the Alpujarras in 1570.

The Mendoza family heirs reclaimed La Calahorra in the early 20th
and in 1922 it was declared a National Historic and Artistic monument. Later, during the Civil War it was used as a Republican barracks.

In 1949 it became protected under the Patrimonio Historico Español and was recognized by the Junta de Andalucia as a special castle within the Comunidad Autonomo de Andalucia in 1993. In the mid 1970’s several movies were shot on location at La Calahorra including Stardust with David Essex and Adam Faith and the Lion in the Wind with Sean Connery and Candice Bergman.

Nowadays La Calahorra is uninhabited but in a good state of conservation with most of the original outstanding features intact. It is also, not only unique for it’s architectural design but because it is one of the last aristocratic castles to remain in Andalucia. I managed to escape from the 20th century for an hour or so and visit this castle-palace with a definite Italian flavour – I was certainly not disappointed with my visit!

The interior visit takes about l hour and is possible only on Wednesday by appointment with Antonio. Spanish speaking. Telephone 0034 95 8677098.