The Palacio de los Córdova is a building located on the Cuesta del Chapiz, in the fascinating neighborhood of Albaicín, the ancient nucleus of Muslim Granada, declared a World Heritage Site in 1984.
Built between 1530 and 1592 by Luis Fernández de Córdoba, Alférez Mayor of Granada, the palace was originally located in the Placeta de las Descalzas. In 1919 it was demolished to make way for the Gran Capitán Theater, but its materials were kept for its reconstruction in 1960 in the current location. In 1983 it was acquired by the City Council to install the Municipal Archive in it and, a year later, it opened its doors to the public.
The interior of the building is a mixture of several styles. Indeed, the building has a Renaissance facade, but in the courtyard there are Gothic elements, columns and doors with mythological or military figures, and the ceiling is of Mudejar art. As for the exterior, the palace is surrounded by gardens and orchards that feature many cypresses, a beautiful view over the Alhambra and a fountain that imitates Nasrid art.
It is the fountain of the eternal love, or the fountain of Doña Elvira, so called because of an ancient legend that tells the romantic and tragic love story between a beautiful girl from an old Castilian family, Mrs. Elvira Padilla, and Gaspar de Facco, a handsome Neapolitan merchant of silks and cloths. That is why it is said that couples in love who know the legend enter what is now today known as the “romantic garden” to swear eternal love in front of the fountain in which they throw flowers.
How to get from Paseo de los Tristes:
Ph. Luca Sarti