Parador de Carmona

The origin of the palace is probably Muslim from the 12th century, built on the remains of a previous fortification from the 10th century. King Pedro I restored it in the 14th century, hiring the same Mudejar masters who had built the Alcázar of Seville. The king used the Alcazar both as a residence and as a prison, where he had successively his companions the Padilla, the Coronel and the Guzman. The Catholic Monarchs embellished the royal quarters and built the arsenal (El Cubete). The fortress was severely damaged by the Carmona earthquake of 1504 and the Lisbon earthquake of 1755, leaving it almost in ruins. Mayor Francisco Ojeda Montero inaugurated the Parador on March 30, 1976, in the presence of the then King and Queen of Spain, Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia.

Located at the highest point of Carmona, to the west of the walled enclosure, this fortified palace is rectangular in shape and is protected on the north and west by a dry moat. The fortress has a total of nine towers and two access gates, one of which is the current entrance to the Parador. The complex is accessed through a large pointed horseshoe arch. Inside the enclosure, past the gate, you enter the guardhouse that leads to the Patio de Armas. There are three lines of walls, including the Torre del Homenaje. As a palace, materials such as marble, tiles and Mudejar style arches were used to decorate the courtyards and chambers.

The Parador is located at the top of Carmona, one of the oldest cities in Europe with more than 5,000 years of history. The historic center preserves the Puerta de Sevilla, the Roman necropolis and the Prioral de Santa Maria. Seville is only 30 kilometers away, and the Seville countryside stretches as far as the eye can see. Ecija, the city of towers, is half an hour away.