The Torre del Oro, or Tower of Gold, was built beginning in 1220 as part of the fortifications of Seville during the Almohad reign. The tower was intended to defend the city's port, to cut off access to the city from the Guadalquivir, and to prevent enemy movement along the bank of the river.
The twelve-sided crenellated tower is constructed of stone and topped by a three-story domed element, also crenelated and with twelve sides. This smaller element and the terrace in which it is centered is accessed from a staircase within the lower tower.
Each story is vaulted, and the exterior of the tower was covered in glazed tiles. The tiles that remain on the spandrels of the blind arches of the façade are green and white, but the tiles that covered the rest of the tower were probably gilded, giving the building its popular name.
Sources:
Casamar Perez, Manuel. 1992. The Almoravids and Almohads: An Introduction. In al-Andalus: the Art of Islamic Spain, edited by Jerrilyn Dodds. NY: Abrams, 75-83.
Ewert, Christian. 1992. The Architectural Heritage of Islamic Spain in North Africa. In al-Andalus: the Art of Islamic Spain, edited by Jerrilyn Dodds. NY: Abrams, 85-95.
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