The site of Seville’s Moorish Alcazar palace has been occupied by the city’s rulers since Roman times, and has been a favoured residence of Spanish kings since the Middle Ages. The palace was built by the Moors in the 7th century, and has been added to and altered by successive occupants ever since.
First to enlarge the building was the infamous al-Mu’tadid of the Abbadids, who reputedly kept a harem of 800 women and decorated the terraces with flowers planted in the skulls of his decapitated enemies. Of the early Christian additions most notable is the colonnaded quadrangle of the Patio of the Maids. The golden-domed Salon de los Embajadores was a wing built by Fernando and Isabel, and was where the royal pair welcomed Columbus back after his discovery of America. The palace is set in beautiful gardens.
