The Palace of Charles V was designed by the Spanish architect Pedro Machuca in 1528 and was begun in 1533, but was never completed. Located within the Alhambra complex, the palace's northeast corner abuts the Court of the Lions and the Court of the Myrtles.
The palace, whose construction necessitated some destruction to the Nasrid palaces and cemeteries, has a strict geometric plan, with a circular courtyard inscribed within the square block containing the various rooms. The plan, façades, and ornamental program of the palace draw from the High Renaissance style practiced by Raphael and other architects in Rome.
The striking juxtaposition of the massive, formal High Renaissance palace and the delicate refinements of the Nasrid palaces creates a complex dialogue about the appropriation of monuments and the relationship between architecture and cultural and political identities.
Sources:
Rosenthal, Earl E. c. 1985. The palace of Charles V in Granada. Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press.
Bermudez Pareja, Jesus. 1971. The palace of Carlos V. Granada : Albaicin-Sadea.
