Carmen de los Arrayanes

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"Carmen de los Arrayanes" Andalusí Palace. The owner, José Luis Romero Núñez, made his dream a reality. He built a Nasrid-style house in the centre of Paradas.

This was a titanic effort for only one person, made possible with the help of local masons and plasterers and other artisans from the entire region and even Granada. He bought a house in 1993, which he demolished to create a 500 square metre plot in the centre of the town. Without any architecture knowledge, he designed all details of the interior. The works were completed in 2005. Since then, he has lived with his family in this "little Alhambra" located in the middle of the Sevillian countryside. He has now decided to open his home to visits. Twelve years of work, 125,000 pieces of tiles from Granada and more than a hundred different silicone plaster moulds were used for its construction.

The owner wanted the building to be as close to the Granada Nasrid-style as possible. He visited the Alhambra some 140 times in the last three years to make drawings and talk to craftsmen and experts in the field. He wanted not just beauty, but also historical accuracy. His passion began when he leafed through a small book about the Alhambra that belonged to his mother. After 30 years of reading about Andalusí architecture and art, he concluded that the Nasrid period was the period of greatest splendour and beauty in the history of Andalusia. He was only interested in the Alhambra. He visited and consulted with the distinguished experts on the subject in Granada. Neither was he interested in the renovations and restorations carried out in the Alhambra since the 19th century. He was looking for the original elements.

Opening times

Friday 10:30, 11:15, 12:00 and 17:30 and Saturdays 11:00.

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