There’s a place in Granada where history doesn’t simply sit behind glass or on the pages of a textbook. It’s right there, in front of you and carved into stone, painted on walls, buried beneath the floor, and wrapped up in one of the most fascinating stories of Spain.
The Royal Chapel of Granada is the final resting place of Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, the Catholic Monarchs. And yet, their decision to be buried here was not quite as straightforward as you might imagine.
Originally, Toledo had been chosen as their burial place. So why Granada?
Fran and I take you inside the Royal Chapel to unravel that story, from the final years of the Reconquest and the fall of Granada to the journey their remains made before reaching the magnificent chapel you can visit today.
And then there’s the building itself.
The Royal Chapel is a wonderful little lesson in the transition from the Middle Ages into the Renaissance. Look closely and you’ll find symbols, religious imagery, royal propaganda, sculpture, architecture and artwork all telling part of the story. It’s almost like walking through a visual Wikipedia of Renaissance Spain, except, thankfully, there’s no loading screen.
This is also one of those places that makes you understand Granada a little differently. The Alhambra tells one part of the story. The Royal Chapel tells another: the story of the Christian monarchy, its ambitions, its faith, and the enormous political changes taking place at the end of the 15th century.
And yes, Jorge includes a visit to the Royal Chapel in The Essence of Southern Spain tour, because some places are simply too important to experience through a guidebook.
So this week on Spanish Loops, Fran and I are opening the doors and taking you inside one of Granada’s most remarkable landmarks.
History is waiting downstairs. And it has quite a story to tell.
