Brothers - The Renaissance Reception of the Alhambra the Letters of Andrea Navagero and the Palace of Charles v - 1994 - Muqarnas

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The Renaissance Reception of the Alhambra: The Letters of Andrea Navagero and the Palace

of Charles VAuthor(s): Cammy BrothersSource: Muqarnas, Vol. 11 (1994), pp. 79-102Published by: BRILLStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1523211.

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CAMMY BROTHERSTHE RENAISSANCE RECEPTION OF THE ALHAMBRA:THE LETTERS OF ANDREANAVAGEROANDTHE PALACE OF CHARLES V

For sixteenth-centuryuropean visitors o Granada, theAlhambra presented a splendid, intact monument of aculture thatwas otherwiseforeign.When Andrea Navag-ero, theVenetian ambassador to the imperialcourt anda humanist,poet, and expert gardener,visited hecityn1526, he found a largelyMoorish population and fewsignsof the Christianreconquest of 1492.1 n letterstohis friendGiovanni BattistaRamusio,Navagerorecordedhis impressionsof the palace and citypriorto the trans-formation hatCharles V began in the same year.2 irstpublished in1556as partof a collection of etters y llus-triousmen, and then in 1563 as a fullvolume, II viaggiofatto n Spagna e in Franciadal magnifico . AndreaNava-giero,he letters re often cited for theirfactualcontent,but have rarely een giventhe attentiontheydeserve as

the reflections f a discerning,well-educated humanist.When Ferdinand and Isabella providedforthepreserva-tion and maintenance of theAlhambrabydesignating ta casa real, r royalresidence,theirconquest was a livingmemoryand the Alhambra could serve as a symbolofthetriumph f Christian pain over theMuslimempire.3But bythe time Charles V arrived n Granada, the citywas Christian and imperial in name only.He chose tobuild a palace adjacent to theAlhambranotonlyforthelovelyviews, ushvegetation, nd abundant water upply,but also forthe opportunity he site affordedto appro-priatetheaura oftheAlhambrawhile nscribingt withsymbolof his domination (fig.1).Although the palace of Charles V at Granada hasreceived a fair mount ofscholarly ttention, t has con-

Fig.1.Granada. Palace of CharlesV and theAlhambra.Viewfrom he east. Photo: courtesyfMAS, Barcelona,Spain)

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80 CAMMY BROTHERSsistently een considered in the stylisticontext of theItalian Renaissance, ratherthan the physicalone of theAlhambra,Granada, and Spain. The degree to which thepalace has been isolated from ts mmediate contextbyrecent studies4 is particularlyunfortunategiven theattentionto site thatcharacterizes Charles's architectu-ralpatronagein Spain. AtC6rdoba, and Seville he patro-nized projectswhich carved out imperial spaces withinthe fabric fmedievalUmayyad nd Almohad buildings,adapting local building styles to suit his functionalneeds. ConsideringwhyCharles chose to build his pal-ace adjacent to theAlhambra in an Italianate style ndcomparing the project to othersat C6rdoba and Sevillemake possible an analysisof the palace within he con-text of Spain's Islamic heritage and the ideology ofempire. Together,Andrea Navagero and CharlesV pro-vide the anchors for a discussion which can illuminatebroader issues such as architectural xchanges betweenItaly nd Spain and themultifaceted, istoricallyayeredrelationof the Islamic to the classical.

ANDREA NAVAGERO'S DESCRIPTIONOF THE ALHAMBRAAndrea Navagero, in addition to being the author of ahistoryof Venice, a scholar, and a diplomat, was aninformedstudent of ancient architecture, n amateurhorticulturalist,nd a poet.5These latter ccupations,asshall be seen,gavehimthe tools toanalyzetheAlhambrain an informed nd perceptiveway.He was friendswithFraGiocondo, the Venetian author of the firstllustratededition ofVitruvius, nd while in Spain requested thatRamusio send him the book. He was also friendswithRaphael, Baldassare Castiglione, nd Pietro Bembo. In aletterof 3 April1516,Bembo writes f theirplan to visitHadrian's Villa at Tivoli together;Bembo had alreadybeen there,but saysthatthey re going toplease Navag-ero before he leaves forVenice.6 In Venice Navagerokepttwogardens,at Murano and Selva, towhich he fre-quentlyrefersn his etters nd which received the avishpraise ofvisitors.'His particularizing escriptions f thevarietiesof species of flora he encounters in Spain andhis abilityto name them demonstrate that he was notsimply n enthusiastbut an expert.8 n addition,he wasthe author of Lusus, a volume of Latin pastoral poetryfirst ublished inVenice in 1530 and based on the imita-tion ofVirgil'sGeorgics.9Navagero's letterscontain many descriptionsof sites

and cities,but none received the attention he lavishedon the Alhambra. He saw the Alhambra in terms ofancient villas nd gardensas theywere described n clas-sical literature.Aftermakingsome general observationsabout its situation and the materials with which itwasbuilt,he begins a room-by-roomlaboration of itsout-standingfeatures.Certain elements- the rich materi-als, the finecraftsmanship,nd the elaborate watersys-tems - attracthis attention; others,for example theIslamic inscriptionswhich adorn almosteveryroom,heignoresentirely. e begins:TheAlhambrassurroundedywalls nd t s ike castleseparated rom herest fthe ity, hich t lmost ntirelydominates.nside here re a goodnumber fhousesbutthe mostspace is occupied bya beautiful alace thatbelonged o theMoorish ings;ntrutht svery eautifuland extremelyumptuousn itsfinemarbles nd in allother hings. hemarble, owever,snoton thewalls utonthe loor. here sa large ourt,r pace, n the panishstyle, ery eautiful nd grand, urrounded ybuildings,but nonepart t has a beautifulnduniquetower hat scalledtheTordeComarez,nwhich here rea few oomsandvery oodprivateooms,with hewindowsmade nadelicate nd pleasingway,with xcellentMoorish rafts-manship,oth nthewalls nd n the eiling ftherooms.The craftedarts re nplaster ith old ndpart f vorywith old; ntrutht s allvery eautiful,nd most f lltheceiling fthe roombelow nd all thewalls.The court stiledwith xtremelyinewhitemarble, ome pieces ofwhich reveryarge. n themiddle here s a channel ullofwater unningrom fountain;tbeginsn thepalaceand conducts hewater verywhere,ndingntherooms.Along oth ides f his hannels a grove fbeautiful yr-tle nd someorange rees.'0

The use of large quantitiesofmarble in buildingwouldhave been familiarto Navagero from his nativecityofVenice,althoughhe notes, "The marble,however,s notin thewalls,but on thefloor."Navageromakes other dis-tinctions, otingthe "Spanish style" ourt and the Moor-ishcraftsmanshipf the wallsand ceilings.The gardensoftheAlhambra, ackingtheparticularityofmaterials nd craftsmanship fthe architecture, re-sented Navagero withthe greatestopportunity o exer-cise hisrhetoric nd hishistorical magination, s well ashis horticultural xpertise.His lettersoftenbegin withexpressionsof his longing to be in his own gardens ofMurano and Selva and include instructions oncerningtheircare,which he had entrusted o Ramusio. In a let-terof 5 May1525,he writes romBarcelona thatSpain isa land "ofthemostbeautifulgardensthat can imagine



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THE RENAISSANCE RECEPTION OF THE ALHAMBRA 81could exist,"and thengoes on to suggestthat Ramusioplant aurel trees nd roses n hisgarden at Murano." Inanother letterfromToledo on 12 September 1525, hewrites, I wouldverymuch like to have a groveplanted inlines as straight s possible,""12a desire thatmighthavebeen inspired by gardens he had seen in Spain. Of thegardensand fountains f the Generalife he writes:

Youleavethispalacefrom secret oor ntheback, ut-side thesurrounding all, ndyouenter beautiful ar-den ofa palace higher n themountain;thepalace is]called theGeneralife. heGeneralifes not very igpal-ace,but t svery ellbuilt ndbeautiful,nd the plendorof tsgardensnd watersmakestthemost eautifulhingthat have een nSpain: thas more paces, ll with bun-dantwater,utonehas water lowingn a channel, nd isfull fbeautiful yrtles,ndorange reesnthemiddle,nwhich here s a loggia. ... thewater lows verywherenthepalace, ndalso ntheroomswhenyouwant,n a fewofwhich twould every leasant o tayn the ummer.na completelyreen lace,made nto meadowprato) itha few eautifulrees, hewatersmadeto come nsuchway hat n a few hannels n themeadowyouhear thewater row nderyour eet, nd itbathes verything.t sdonewithoutny ffort,nd withoutnyone eeinghow.13Later in the same passage Navagero again marvels t theingenious devices used in the water ystem. ne stairwayhad waterchannels inwhich the amount of water couldbe controlled, so that "if theywant to increase theamount ofwater, heyncreaseit o much that tdoes notgo in itsplace, itoverflows,nd floodsall the levels,andbathes everyone tfinds,makinga thousand okes of thissort. 14Of the overall effect f the palace, gardens,and flow-ingwaters,Navagero says, In sum,thisplace lacks noth-ingpleasing or beautiful, xcept someone to appreciateit, and enjoy it, living n quiet, and tranquil pursuitofstudies, and pleasures appropriate to a man of worth,withoutdesiring anything lse."'" Then he adds, "fromso manyruins of delightfulplaces, one can judge thatthose Moorish kingsdid not neglect anything hat con-tributedto a pleasant and contented life."'6Navagero'sstatement hattheonlything ackingat theAlhambra s"someone to appreciate it, nd enjoy t"suggests senseof regretthatthe palace has been abandoned. On theother hand, he articulates Petrarchanvision of a pasto-ral ifeofquiet study, ot unlikethe sorthe longed for nhis letters o Ramusio. For example in a letter f1525hewrotefromToledo, "Devote yourself o the enrichmentof your villa Ramusia with many beauties and withdelightful rees, o that on my rrival, fterMurano and

Selva,we can spend a good partof our life n that coun-trysidewithour books.""17Navagero'sdescriptions how admiration nd wonder,but their tyle lso displays he influence of the classicalliterary radition.Ancientdescriptionsof villasand gar-dens, the best known ofwhichare the letters fPliny heYounger,helped shape thewayNavagero perceivesanddescribes the Alhambra. The scarcity f archaeologicalevidence regarding ncient villas ed toa generalfascina-tion with hese texts mong Renaissance humanists, ndNavagerowas no exception.Astheauthor ofpastoral po-etry, e would have used thetoposofthe locus moenus.18Though conventional in nature, classical descriptionswould have prepared Navagero forthe scale and rich-ness of theAlhambraand for he avishness f tsgardensin a waythat his experiences in Italycould not have. Inparticular, liny'sdescriptionof his villaat Laurentinumprovidesa parallel to Navagero's. Both followthe samesequence, beginningwith descriptionofthe landscapeand site,proceeding to an account of the interiorandthe views,and concluding with the gardens; and bothcomment on the tranquillitynd pleasure affordedbytheplace. WrotePlinyof hisgarden apartment:

Crowning he terrace,portico, nd garden,stands adetached uilding, hich callmy avourite:nd ntruthamextremelyond f t, s I erected tmyself.tcontainsvery armwinter-room,ne sideofwhich ooksupontheterrace, he other has a view of the sea, and both lieexposedto the sun. .. Asyou ieuponthis ouch,fromthefeet ouhave prospectfthe ea; fyou ookbehind,yousee theneighbouringillas; nd from he headyouhave view f thewoods..... Thisprofoundranquilitysoccasionedbya passage,whichdivides he wall of thischamber rom hat fthegarden. .. When retire o thisgarden-apartment,fancymyselfhundredmiles rommyownhouse....Among hepleasuresndconveniencesf his ituation,there s one disadvantage,nd that s,thewant fa run-ning tream.'9Navagero's account of the Alhambra is byno means adeliberate copy of thispassage; on the one hand, it isaccurate, and on the other,there are a limited numberofwaysnwhicha gardencan be described.Nonetheless,Pliny'smodel forms backgroundforboth thestructureand pointsof focus ofNavagero's description.The termsPlinyemploysare general enough to encompass all ofthemajorfeatures f slamicgardens,so thatNavagero'sdescriptionoftheAlhambracould be detailed and accu-ratewithout ompromising r even challengingtheclas-sical literary aradigm.



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82 CAMMY BROTHERSPliny'sTuscan villa does include fountains, nd it toohad itsplayful ses of water.He writes f a complexfoun-tain n hisgarden:

At the head is a curved eatofwhitemarble eckedwithvinesand four vine-clad olumnsof Carystianmarble.From eneath he eatwater lows utfrom mall ipesbutappears obe pressed utby heweightf thebench nditsoccupants,nd iscaughtna stonebasinhewn ut oftherock acedwithmarble,ery retty,nwhich he upplyis so regulated hat tnever verflowshought s alwaysfull. here s a fountainnfull iew fthis eatfrom hichthewater hoots p into he ir and scaughtnthebasinas itfalls ack,not ontinuouslyut ntermittently.20

The regulationof a watersupply, he playful llusion oftheseat causing the watertospewout,and thehighly is-ible fountainmentioned here mayhave drawnNavage-ro's attention o analogous elementshe describes at theAlhambra.Navagero would also have known other classical au-thorswhose writings ould have served as prototypes.For example, Lucullus's villaprovidesan ancient prece-dent for the dissolution of the boundaries betweenindoors and outdoors,house and garden,whichNavag-ero notes in the Court of the Lions: Varro describedLucullus's aviary,whichwas under the same roof as thedining room. Cicero writes that his brother's estateincluded a bath,promenade, colonnade, aviary,nd fishpond with fountains. And Statius's Silvae includes anekphrasisof a countryvillawhichexpressesenthusiasmfor the marvels of technology.Martial writes of "thisgrove,these springs, hismattedshade of thehorizontalvine, thisconduit of irrigatingwater, he meadows, therose gardens ... the white tower .." thatbelonged totheestate he wasgivenon hisreturn o Spain in 98 A.D.21The wayNavagero's classical education informed hisresponse to Spain also surfaces more explicitly n hisscatteredreferences o Pliny heElder,toCicero, and toColumella, a first-centuryoman of Spanish birth whowrote on agriculture,22nd throughhis descriptionofthe ancient ruins he came upon. Of the ruins aroundGranada he writes:

In thepassagebeforeyoureach thePuentede Pinos ontherightideof hemountain,ou eemany uins ndves-tiges f city, hich t sbelievednancient imeswas libe-ris,nowcalledGranada a Vitia.However,manybelievethatwhereGranada s nowwas n ancient imes liberis,because one findsomestones nwhich he iberitanirenamed,butthey ould havebeen brought, articularlyfrom o close a place .... there re some tones tPuentede Pinoswith ncient nscriptionsrought here romplacethatspastPuentede Pinos,which scalled e Aerro

dellos nfantes nd in ancient imes lvereon,whichyousee andrecognize y he ame nscriptionshat re nthemarble tones.23Although Navagero doubts the accuracy of the claimsthat Granada itselfwas the siteof an ancient city, e wasaware of the classical heritageof the area around Gra-nada and of how itshistory ould be read in the stones.Evidence of his archaeological interests merges moreclearlyfromhisdescriptions ftheRoman ruins aroundSeville:

Past hemonastery,ta leagueor littlemore romeville,there sanother eautifulmonasteryalledSaint sidoro,where hey ay evillewas n ancient imes, ut his sfalse,becauseSevillewaswhere t is. The monasterys prettyenough as I said),butwhats more eautifulrethegreatnumber f ntique uins ne sees.Among hem here sanamphitheaterhat s notvery ig,which unctionsothisday, tilln ts ntire orm,nd ts teps, utmany arts reruined, ndall the marble nd stone pietreive) hatwastherehas been taken way. ne alsosees thevestigesfatemple, nd ofbaths,fromwhichone can understand[whatwas here], utnothings ascomplete s the mphi-theater.verythinglse sconfused,ndonly ull fruinsthatdon'tshowwhatthe thingswere. t is certain hattherewas a city,ut don't think t wasSeville, utmorelikewhat linyays,peaking fSeville,x dversoppidumesset.24

The passage also provides an example of the way inwhich Navagero's factual descriptionsare strewnwithclassical references.But not all sixteenth-centurytalian visitors to theAlhambra had Navagero's classical trainingor enthusi-asm forgardens.For example,his secretary uan Negrowrites f theAlhambra in a farmore mundane and pre-dictable manner:TheAlhambra,s theplacewhere heemperorodges scalled, s ituatedntopof hill. .. It sbuiltntheMoor-ishstyle, nd forwhat t s I like twellenough and it s notugly. here remany ountainsnside ndpleasant lacesand somany elights,ecausefrom hat anbe seen theseMoors, r most fthem, id not ttend oanythingfnottodelightndpleasure.25

Negro's unembellished version of Navagero's descrip-tion stillconveys measured degree ofappreciation.Closer to Navagero in his approach to Islamic palaceswas Leandro Alberti.Alberti's account of La Ziza inSicily,n Descrittionei tutta 'Italiae Isolepertinentid essaof1561,demonstrates n equally nformed, utquite dis-tinct, erception.BothNavageroand Albertidiscernfac-ets of Roman architecture in Islamic buildings, but



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THE RENAISSANCERECEPTION OF THE ALHAMBRA 83according to their own interests. Both approach theunknown formswiththe tools theyhave, Alberti witharchitecturaltheory,Navagero with classical literature;but neither has thevocabularyto describe precisely heIslamic architecturalfeaturesthey ee.26 Albertibeginsby statingthat all the buildings "were made with muchmeasure, proportion, and ornament. Finding myselfhere and seeing thatpalace, whichyou can still see wasmade withgreatartifice nd expense, I decided to drawas much as was possible withmeasure (misuratamente),describing tthenpart bypart,to please curiousminds."Following this explanation, he continues in a passagetypical f his analyticalmode: "The facade is ninety eetlong, and seventy-three all, of stone squares puttogetherwith great artifice, bove which there is anorder of merlons of a heightof three feet. n the middleof thisfacade you see a verymeasured door thirty eethigh and half as wide, made withgreat majesty.""2 isdeterminationto measure and drawthebuildingsof LaZiza and his focus on theirsymmetrynd geometricalrelationssuggestan attitudeto these Islamic ruins akinto thatadopted byRenaissance architects o Roman ru-ins.WhilebothNavageroand Alberti ould certainlyden-tifyMoorishbuildings,theyhad a limitedknowledgeofdistinctionsn historical ras and architectural tyles. nNavagero'sdescriptionof the cathedralofSeville,he didnot realize thatthe courtyardwas twelfth-centurylmo-had, althoughhe could discern a difference etween thetwo parts. He writes, Next to the Church is a sort ofcloister, r largecourt,with wall adjoining thechurch,so that t all seems to be one building." He continues,"Attached to thechurch there s a bell tower hat s beau-tiful nd has a veryhightower, urnishedwithbeautiful,large bells; one ascends bya veryflat taircase,withoutsteps, like the one in Venice, in the bell tower at SanMarco, but more pleasant and light."'28The transforma-tion of the minaret nto a bell tower must have been asuccess,because Navagero does not recognize its earlierfunction. His allusion to Venice reveals that he, likeAlberti and indeed all travelers, efinedwhathe saw interms f what he alreadyknew.Alberti notes some of the same featuresof the archi-tecture s Navagero: the Moorishcraftsmanship,he finemarbles,thefountains, hefruit rees:

... thebuilding,s I have aid, s made withmuch nge-nuity,o that ne cannotunderstand hemeansbywhichthewater, hich ere ascades rom he ir, alls.n truth,as I havewritten,his s a superb ndextremelyrtfulartef-iciossissimo)uilding, ut nowforneglectt sfallingnto

ruin... Intruthbelieve hat o onewith generousoulcould see thesebuildingswithpartsruinedand partsthreatening uin,withoutfeelinggreatsorrow nhisheart.... I have described thisbuildingto satisfyuriousminds,and because of the fear thatthere s no one of a generoussoul who willpreservethem, o thattheywill no longerbeseen standing,at least the writtenmemoryof them willremain,and forthis reason I havewritten he Geography.29

Alberti's sense of imminent loss and his desire to pre-serve the buildings he sees falling into ruin parallel thesentiments Navagero expresses with regard to the Span-ish control of the countryside nd the coming of theInquisitionto Granada.As a humanist,Navagero's commentsare remarkablyfree of culturalbias; he seems almost to regretthattheMoors no longer rule Granada: "Under the above-men-tioned hills of theAlhambra ... thereare manyunder-ground caves where it is said that the Moors held theChristian laves in prison,"he saysbut thenpraises theMoors forcultivating he and and criticizes heSpanishboth for their laziness and for their treatmentof theMuslims:

... in everypart around Granada, among the manygar-dens,you see in theplains and in thehills .. manysmallMoorish ouseshere nd therewhich,ut ogether,ouldmake nother ity o smaller hanGranada: t s true hatmost f them re small, utall of themhave theirwaterandroses, nd muscat rapes ndmyrtles,ndeverythingpleasing, emonstratinghat hecountry asmuchmorebeautifulnthetime hat twas nthehands f theMoorsthan t s now.Nowthere remany ouses n ruin ndgar-dens gone to ruin whichunder theMoors were main-tained,o that hey rew;ndtheMoorswere he neswhokept he ntire ountrysideultivatedndplanted smanytrees s there re.The Spanish, otonly n this own fGranada, ut nall therest fSpain, renotveryndustri-ous,they either lant, orwork. hey ladly otowar, rto the ndies toacquire skill.... there are not as manypeo-ple in Granada as there were in the time of the Moors....The Moors speak their ancient and native Moorish lan-guage, and there are fewwho want to learn Spanish. Theyare forced o becomeChristians,ut heyretaughto lit-tle about our faith, nd devote so little are to it, ince it smore for hepriests' dvantage hat hey aveto be thisway,hat nsecret heyreMoors sbefore,rthey o notbelieve in anyfaith t all. Theyare enemies of theSpanish,by whom theyare not verywell treated.All the womendressin the Moorish style,which s a fantastic ostume.30Navagero found the forced conversion of the Moorsintolerable:

When heCatholicKing onquered his ingdom,e con-cededthat or orty ears he nquisition ouldnotenter.Thiswas nding t thetime hatwe were nGranada, nd



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84 CAMMY BROTHERSthe moment leave the nquisitors ill nter. hat couldeasily uin hat ity,f hey ant oproceed everelygainstthe Moors.Those who ay hat he nquisitors ere ntro-ducedmore gainst heChristianshan gainst heMoorsareright, ecausewith he hield f this rivilegehat orforty ears he Inquisitionwouldnotenter, uring histimemany uspiciousypessuspetti)ame fromvery artofSpainto live ecurely,ut thiswas to the detrimentfthebeautyndimprovementf thecity,ecause ll thosewhobuilt eautiful ouses ndwere ichmerchantso notcome anymore, nd whatremains s destroyed,o thatclearly verythingill etworse."

UnlikeAlberti,Navagero's perceptionof ruin s notspe-cific to one monument; rather,he foresees an overalldecline inboth thecity f Granada and in thesurround-ing countryside.32CHARLES VAND HIS PALACE AT GRANADA

On 2 January1492, Granada surrenderedand the lastNasrid ruler Muhammad XII, also known as Boabdil,handed over the keysof the Alhambra to King Ferdi-nand ofCastile.33 he terms f surrenderweregenerous;theyallowed the Moors to keep theirproperty nd tocontinue practicingtheir religion.34Moors and Chris-tians continued fora time to live togetherpeacefully stheyhad for centuries,but the growing power of theOttomanEmpiresoon brought bout a change inpolicy,as the Spaniards feared that the Moors representedpotentialallies of the OttomanTurkson theirownsoil.35In the year 1501 the Moors were forced to choose be-tween conversion and expulsion, and thousands wereconverted.3"The converts (or Moriscos) continued topractice theirMuslimreligion,resented this reversalofthe 1492 agreements, nd were still uspected ofsympa-thywith he Ottomans.When Charles I, already rulingBurgundy nd the LowLands, became king of Spain upon the death ofFerdinand in 1517, he inherited these problems. Hisaccession as HolyRoman Emperordiminishedthe ikeli-hood thathe would achieve a satisfactoryesolution ofthem."'Althoughhe attemptedto rule each partof theempirehe had inheritedfollowingts own local laws andtraditions, hiswas not sufficient o quell local resent-ment at being asked to fundexploits n remote areas ofthe empire.38 n 1520-21, the comunerosose in revoltagainst foreignrule and high taxes.39 he former om-plaint, at least, was well founded: of his forty ears asSpanish king,from1517 to 1556,fewer hansixteen werespent in Spain, and the longest continuous period fellbetween1522 and 1529.40

CharlesV first ntered Granada inJune 1526,accom-panied byhis queen, Isabella ofPortugal.4' For his entrytriumphal rches had been erectedatthecity ateand atthe formermosque (theyfailed to impress Navagero'ssecretary uan Negro,who called them "uglyand awk-ward"), and there wasdancing and singing n the Moor-ish style.42 espite these displays,Navagero wrote that"His Majestymade an entryn this and with ittlepomp,because almosteveryonehere isMoorish."43An early hroniclesuggests hatCharlespreferredGra-nada toall the othercitieshe had visitednSpain,and wasparticularly leased with heAlhambra, houghhe foundit could notprovidethe comforts o which he was accus-tomed.44 herefore, lthoughhe kept t maintained n itsoriginal tyle, e began workon newquartersnext to theoriginalbuilding. Between 1528 and 1533 Charles hadquartersadded to the north end of the Hall of theTwoSisters ofacilitateccessto his favorite arts ftheAlham-bra,chieflyhe Court of theLions,without ausing tanydamage.45He had the rooms decoratedin a combinationof Italian Renaissance and Mudejar styles nd adornedwith imperial devices.46Over the fireplaceof his bedchamber,he employed new emblemdepicting n impe-rialeagle holdinga globe flankedbythe columnsof Her-cules and inscribedwith the motto "Plus oultre."47fricafigured prominently n the globe, signifying harles'sintent o fulfill erdinandand Isabella's plan to conquerthe African oast whichwasunder Islamic control.48The plan to build an entirelynew palace emerged inthe early1530's,and constructionhad begun under thesupervision of the Italian-trained painter PedroMachuca by May1533.49n a letter o Alonso de Toledoof23 May1534,Charles refers o having granted50,000ducats forthe buildingof a new palace, the moneyforwhich was to be taken from the annual tributepaid bythe Moriscoes for the right o retainsome of theircus-toms.50 The site chosen for the palace adjoined theCourt of theMyrtlesnd the Court of the Lions (fig.2).The square plan encloses an immense,two-storyircularcourtyard fig. 3). The facade is articulatedby rustica-tion and byDoric orderpilasters n the firsttory nd byIonic orderpilasters n thesecond,withreliefs dorningthe bases and the window frames (fig. 4). The mainentrance is marked by fluted double columns and abroad arch on the upper level, producing the impres-sion of a two-storyriumphal rch.Charles's decision to construct monumental palaceon this itemust nparthave been a responsetohisper-ception ofthepoliticalsituation n Granada. Navagero'sdescription of the mistreated Moorish population as



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THE RENAISSANCE RECEPTION OF THE ALHAMBRA 85

KEY TO PI ATE 17A. ProposedfortificationsB. Water torage ankC. Festival allD. Patio de MachucaE. Cuarto doradoF. North taircaseG. Court ofMyrtles(or Comares)H. NewQuartersI. Court ofLionsJ. Christianntry oNazaridepalacesK. KitchenL. EastentryM. Santa Mariade la AlhambraN. Arch onnectingtwo orecourtsO. Location of PuertaRealP. WestgateQ. PuertadeJusticia

Fig.2. Granada. Palace of CharlesV and theAlhambra. lanbyPedroMachuca (1528). (FromEarlRosenthal,The alaceofCharles Prin-ceton,1985])Arabicspeaking, ecretly ontinuing opracticetheir eli-gion, and harboring hostility owards the Spanish sug-gestsa cause for nxiety.n addition,therecent revolt fthe comuneros ade the possibility f political upheavalparticularly eal.5' Because his imperialdutiespreventedhimfromoccupyingthe cityforanystretch f time,hehad to rely n his emissaries and on his palace to send aclear message about thepowerof the state and his com-mitment o defend it against the Ottomans.52t is note-worthythat, although Europeans generally perceivedthe Ottomans as a menace and welcomed Charles's vowto defeat them,criticsof the emperor thoughtthat hewasmerely singthe Ottoman threat s an excuse to for-ward the interests f theHapsburg dynasty.53The urgency of Charles's political needs, however,does not in itself xplain his decision to expresshimselfin the language of the Roman Renaissance. AlthoughCharles did not visit talyuntil the summerof1529,earlyin his reignhe was already following he convention ofHolyRoman emperors n developinga personal iconog-raphy mbued withreferences to imperial Rome.54Hesigned his name "Carolus," and had "caesar" added tohistitle.55he title f "caesar" was also claimed bySultan

Siileyman , and, as GiilruNecipoglu has demonstrated,the disputeover the rights o it providesan example ofthe way in which the Hapsburg-Ottoman rivalrywasexpressed in symbolic erms."6 onsidering thatthe titleof caesar and otherclassical referenceswere integraltoCharles's construction of his identity s emperor, hewould have been well disposed to proposals to expressthisformofself-representationn a monumentalscale.AlthoughCharles did not reside at Granada for ongperiodsand neveractually ived n thepalace - and cau-tionregardingthedegree of his nvolvementn itsbuild-ing is thereforeappropriate - it would be foolish toimaginethathe would authorizesuch a largeand expen-sive project without first pproving the plans for it.Nonetheless, and granted that Charles would havefound the classical architectural anguage compatiblewithhis self-representation,e is unlikelyto have beenthe actual agent of its employment.For that,we mustlook to Charles's court.Responsibility oroverseeingtheprojectwas givento Luis Hurtado de Mendoza, the gov-ernor of theAlhambra.57 he architect f thepalace hasbeen identified s Pedro Machuca byRosenthal,and asGiulio Romano byTafuri,but Luis Hurtado maywell



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86 CAMMY BROTHERS

Fig.3. Granada.Courtyardf thepalace of CharlesV,1556-1568. Photo:courtesyftheConway ibrary, ourtauld nstitute,ondon)have playedthe mostsignificant art n shapingits basicprogram and style.The Mendoza familyhad connec-tions with taly nd had helped to introduce the ItalianRenaissance style nto Spain.58Their interpretation f itinvolved therediscovery fSpain's Roman heritage, ndtheyundertook such projectsas tracingthe Latin rootsofCastillianplace names and translating oman authorswho had lived in Spain, such as Seneca, Lucan, andQuintillian.59Luis Hurtado's father fiigo L6pez, whohad served as governorof theAlhambrabeforehim,hadlived in Florence from 1485 to 1486 and his brotherDiego had lived n Italyfrom1523 to 1527.60Yet another member of the Mendoza family,DonRodrigo de Vivar y Mendoza (1466-1523), cousin of

Luis Hurtado, as a reward for his valor in the Recon-quista, had been granted the Moorish fortof La Cala-horra, 75 kilometers fromGranada. He had gone toRome in 1508 to obtain approval of his marriage andupon his returnhe began renovations of the courtyardof La Calahorra.6' He brought back with him fromRome the CodexEscurialensis, book of drawings af-ter the antique produced in the workshop of Giu-liano da Sangallo or of Ghirlandaio.62 Using antiquedecorative motifs represented in the codex as thebasis for the relief ornament, and craftsmen nd ma-terials mported from Italy,he created the first Re-naissance courtyard n Spain.6SThis precedent for anItalian Renaissance design in the Mendoza family



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Fig.4.Granada.The palace ofCharlesV, outhfacade begun1533). (Photo:courtesyftheConway ibrary,ourtauld nstitute, ondon)and so close to Granada furthersubstantiates theirinfluence in shaping the styleof the new imperial pal-ace.6

Developments in ItalianRenaissance architecturehadspread to Spain in part throughbooks.65The illustra-tions ofCesare Cesariano's 1521editionofVitruvius, orexample, appear to have influencedthe ornamentationofthepalace facade." The two-dimensional haracter ofthe volutes on the palace's Ionic capitals suggests agraphic source, and Cesariano's illustration f the Ionicorder provides a nearly precise model.67 Illustrationssuch as thatofthePorticusPersica,encrustedwithreliefsculpture of arms and trophies, provided a vision ofRoman architecture that was rich and ornamental."8Because Cesariano had apparentlynever visitedRomehimself, he illustrationshe providesbear more resem-blance to traditionalnorthern talian architecture hanto the monuments of ancient Rome." Thus, ifhis book

was indeed used in thedesign ofthepalace facade, it npartaccounts for the anomalous, anachronisticrelationof the palace of Charles V to Renaissance architecture.Like La Calahorra, thepalace does not reflect heculmi-nationofyearsofstudy nd sketching mong Roman ru-ins and Renaissance palaces, but a conglomeration ofassiduouslycopied motifs.One way of understanding the decision to build aRenaissance-style alace on the hillof theAlhambra stoconsider the alternativesCharles faced and the choiceshe made. Given the premise that he wished to make astatementof his power and presence in Granada, hemighthave chosen to erectan equestrian statue,or per-haps a triumphal rch. One can well imagine,however,thateitherof thesewould have appeared dwarfish ndinsignificant longside the Alhambra. Another palace,then,presentedhisonly possiblemeans ofmatchingtheAlhambra.Although it would have defied the wishesof



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Fig.5. Seville.CourtyardftheCasa de Pilatos, 481-1530. Photo: courtesyftheConway ibrary, ourtauld nstitute, ondon)Ferdinand and Isabella, he could have razed theNasridpalace to build his own. He mightalso have decided tobuild in theGothicstyle, s he did at theC6rdoba cathe-dral, or the Spanish plateresque style, s at the SevilleAlcazar. Neither of these, however,was well suited tomonumental building. On the other hand, he couldhave built in theMudejar style, s at the Casa de Pilatosin Seville (fig.5).70 That palace, built by Son FadriqueEnriquez between1481 and 1530,presents n alternativetypeof palace architecture n Andalusia. Like the Men-

dozas of Granada, the Enriquez family layed a part inintroducing the Italian Renaissance to Andalusiathroughtheir architecturalpatronage. However,unlikethe palace of Charles V, the Casa de Pilatos displaysanamalgam of Italianate features, such as the squarecourtyard nd round arches, and of Islamic decorativedetail. The innerwalls of the courtyard eature bustsofRoman emperors, as at the palace of Charles V, butunlike itthey re also decorated withthegeometricpat-ternsof slamic tiles.Buton the site oftheAlhambraany



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Fig.6. Granada.Fountainof CharlesV,1545. Photo:courtesyf theConway ibrary, ourtauld nstitute,ondon)

stylewhichreflected slamic influence would have inevi-tably appeared derivative and second rate. Instead,Charles chose to build in the stylethat presented thegreatestformalcontrastwith, nd culturalchallenge to,theAlhambra:that of theHigh Renaissance inRome.The classical language of the palace serves to articu-late itsmost mportant eatures: hefirst-storyusticationemphasizes thephysicalmassiveness nd impenetrabilityof the palace; the reliefpanels and sculpture on theentrance portal, its double columns, and its Serlianamotif xpress the rhetoricof the triumphalarch,whilethe elaborate ornaments of the second-storywindowframes extend this association with richness and tri-umph. The linear articulation of the Ionic pilastersonthe second story uggestsrefined legance, incontrast othestrength f the rusticatedDoric on the first. he con-centrationof ornament on the exteriorand the monu-mental scale of the palace make its domination of thehilltopas explicitas possible. Inside the two-storyolon-naded courtyard, ne has theimpressionofbeing in anentirelyrational space, closed to the exteriorand self-contained.

Both the fact thatand the manner in which classicallanguage is employed in the palace of Charles V deter-mine itsrelationshipto theAlhambra. The twopalacesare bound bytheiropposing forms nd similar deolo-gies.On a basic,formal evel,the architect mployedfea-turesof Renaissance architecture s opposing analoguesto those of theAlhambra. t is as ifhe had compiled a listof the Alhambra's chieffeatures and made theiroppo-sites the basis for hisprogram:theAlhambra is additive,multicolored,sprawling,with internal decoration andoutward-looking iews,while thepalace is square, mono-tone,self-contained, xternally rnamented but inward-looking.7'The overdeterminationof the facade of thepalace, in both itsuse of the orders and its ornamentsand emblems,maybe read as a classicizingversion of theinscriptions adorning the interiorwalls of theAlham-bra. Three of the most prominentfeatures of the pal-ace design - the portal, the fountain (fig. 6), andthe courtyard- correspond to those of theAlham-bra. Although each is present in other Renaissancebuildings,their particular emphasis in the palace ofCharles V mayconstitute response to the Alhambra.



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90 CAMMY BROTHERSOn a more abstract evel,the place architecturaltheoryheld in the classical tradition istinguishest mostclearlyfrom the Islamic tradition, nd thuscould provide themosteffectivemeans ofopposing it.As literalrenditionsof Renaissance interpretationsof Vitruvius,both theform of the plan and the use of the orders reflect heattempt o utilize thisdistinction o good effect.The relationshipbetween the Alhambra and the pal-ace ofCharlesV is notsolelydefinedbyformal ontrasts,however. Despite their grosslydifferent ppearances,both manifest he principleofhegemonic rule. Specifi-cally, hegeometry fthesquare, thecircle, nd the octa-gonwhichgoverns heconfiguration fthepalace's planalso defines several of the major spaces of the Alham-bra." Accordingto Biget,Herve, and Thebert,the con-junction ofthesethreefigures ymbolizes arth, ternity,and celestial life; Tafuri suggests that the geometryserved to underscore the unifiedtotalityfreligious ndpoliticalrule.7'While theuse ofpure geometricforms osuggest the link between spiritual and earthlyrealmsmay be discerned in ancient Roman architecture, tsmore culturally bvious and physicallymmediate rootslie in theAlhambra.This relationship is explored by Oleg Grabar in anarticle on the dome of paradise, in which he suggestsparallels between the Alhambra and the Golden House(Domus Aureus) of Nero. The historian Suetoniusdescribed Nero's palace in termsnot unlike those inwhichNavagero describes theAlhambra.He writes:

Therewas pond, oo, ike he ea, urrounded ith uild-ings orepresentities, esides racts fcountry,aried ytilledfields, ineyards,astures, nd woods,withgreatnumbers fwild nd domestic nimals.n the rest f thehouseall partswere verlaidwith oldand adornedwithgems ndmother-of-pearl.hereweredining oomswithfretted eilingsof ivory, hosepanels could turn andshower ownflowersnd werefitted ith ipesfor prin-kling heguestswith erfumes.hemainbanquethallwascircular nd constantlyevolved ayand night,ike theheavens. e had baths uppliedwithea water ndsulphurwater.74Navagero also marvels at the richmaterials and surfacedecorations, the ingenious waterworks, he pools ofwater, nd the baths. Grabar proposes a more specificsimilarity etween the rotatingdome in Nero's palaceand thatof the Dome ofHeaven in the Hall of the TwoSisters t theAlhambra.75According to Grabar,a poemby the Iranian poet Nizami implies that the Dome ofHeaven at theAlhambraserved as a symbolofuniversal

power in a manner analogous to the circular hall andwall paintings t Nero's palace.76The plan ofthepalaceofCharlesV,a circularcourtyard nclosed within per-fect quare, suggests hat hepointsofsimilarityhatGra-bar cites betweenthe ancient Roman and Nasrid palacesmay, n broad terms, lso applyto thisRenaissance pal-ace.Thus, the Roman emperorNero, the Nasrid rulers ofSpain, and Charles V may be bound less by historicalcontinuity hanby mperial deology.For all three,theirtotalizing, egemonic ideologyfinds ts ymbolic xpres-sion in pure geometricforms.The articulationof archi-tectural pace as the earthand heaven,with heimplica-tion ofcosmiccontrol,characterizesnot onlytheHouseof Nero and theAlhambra,but also thepalace ofCharlesV. Aside from a symbolicgeometry, hese palaces sharedisplaysof ornamental and materialrichness.Such do-mestic displaysare conventional means of establishingthe abundant wealth and hence powerof the owner. naddition,accordingto a Vitruvian ierarchyn which de-corumdictatedthat he luxury f a house correspondtothe statusof itsowner,ornamentand scale establishedsuperiority. hese similarities an be viewed,on the onehand, as parallelsarisingfrom ike circumstances r,onthe other, s historicallyonnected, through lassical n-fluenceson Umayyad rchitecture, hat were revivedbytheNasrids.7The Roman roots ofUmayyad rchitecturehaveyetto be thoroughly xplored. However, t s a trib-ute to Navagero that he intuitively erceivedwhat con-temporary istorianshaveyet o explicate.The parallels between ancient Roman architectureand the Alhambrawould have conditioned itsreceptionbyRenaissance viewers.While CharlesV as HolyRomanEmperor was the heir to the imperialRoman tradition,historicalcircumstances made him heir to that of theNasridempire.The palace he built t Granada manifeststhe tension between these tworoles. The factthat thepalace embodies Roman and Renaissance principlesmore explicitlythan any building in Rome serves toreveal tsrelationto,rather hanindependence from,tssite next to the Alhambra. The parallels between theAlhambra and ancient monuments were recognized bycontemporaries: in an inscriptionon the tomb of hisbrother, ffigo Lopez, the fatherof Luis Hurtado deMendoza, had referred o theAlhambraas the "acropo-lis of Illiberis,"the ancient citywhich was believed tohave been on the siteoftheAlhambra.78

Byreconsidering he relationofthepalace toarchitec-ture n Italy, hedependence of tsform n itsparticular



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THE RENAISSANCERECEPTION OF THE ALHAMBRA 91locationmaybe betterunderstood.The similarityf thepalace to Italian buildingshas, I think,been overstatedbyboth Rosenthal and Tafuri.And despite Rosenthal'spainstaking atalogue oftheRoman sourcesforroughlyseventyof the elements of the facade, the palace ofCharlesV isunimaginableon a street n Rome. Given thepremisethatCharles and his adviserswanted to build inan Italian Renaissance style,whydoes the palace theybuilt ook so unlikepalaces in Italy?The distance ofthepalace from ts taliancounterparts s evident n itsplan,itsexteriorornament, nd its nteriordisposition.Whilethe concept of a buildingwitha circle in a square hadbeen formulated in Italy, appeared frequently n thearchitectural rawingsbyFrancesco di Giorgio,Peruzzi,Giulio Romano, and others, nd had been tested n thehouse of Andrea Mantegna in Mantua (built 1472-ca.1502), it was not until Charles V that an appropriate

occasion for its employmenton a grand scale arose.79This was presumably n parta result ofpracticalconsid-erations such as thespatialrestrictionsfurban sites ndthe difficultynd expense of executing circular mold-ings, and in part because the unfamiliarityf its formmayhave inhibitedpatrons.80While theplan could havebeen accommodated on a rural ite, tsfortress-like allswere antitheticalto the ideology of the countryvilla,which entailed openness to the landscape and garden.The Villa Madama, builtbyRaphael forPope Leo X onthe Monte Mario outside of Rome, provides an illumi-nating point of contrast n thisregard. Rosenthal andTafuriboth speculate that its courtyard,only partiallyexecuted but intended to be circular, erved as a modelfor thatofthepalace ofCharlesV,but overall the build-ingshavelittle n common. Theyare founded on entirelydifferentonceptions ofthe relationof interior o exte-

Fig.7.Mantua.The Palazzodel Te,ca. 1525-1533.Viewfrom bove. (Photo: courtesyf Ente Provinciale elTurismo)



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92 CAMMY BROTHERS

Fig.8. Fumane,taly. he VilladellaTorrecompleted y1562).(Photo:Michael irst; ourtesyf heConwayibrary,ourtauldInstitute,ondon)riorand ofarchitecture o garden. Likewise the Palazzodel Te, while resemblingthe palace ofCharlesV in cer-taindetails of tsexteriorfacade,bears little omparisonin thearrangement nd function f tscourtyard fig.7).The ways nwhich thepalace differs rom ontemporarybuildings n Italypointsto thedeterminingnature of tsimperial patronage and its location adjoining theAlhambra. Ironically,n theveryways hese Italian build-ings differ romthe Palace of Charles V, theyresembletheAlhambra.WhileNavagerowas nGranada describingthe Alham-bra according to classical and specifically linean mod-els, in Rome humanistsand architects most of themfriends of Navagero) were attemptingto reconstructancient villasand gardenson the basis ofthese same tex-

Fig. .Mapof 752with etail fVilla ellaTorre.From: ierpaoloBrugnolind Arturoandrini,ds.,L'ArchitetturaVeronaell' tddella erenissimaVerona,988], ol. ,p.362.)tual sources. Both theVilla Madama and Palazzo del Teare founded on ancient literary escriptionsof villasandgardens, particularly y Pliny.They are thus similartothe Alhambra in the featuresNavagero emphasizes. Toname themost obvious elements:therelation of nteriorto exterior, articularly hedissolution ofthesebounda-ries,the importanceof viewsonto thegardensand land-scape beyond, the presence of reflecting pools,courtyards, nd loggias. In both the Renaissance villasand in the Nasridpalace, thesespaces deliberatelyglori-fied gardens, poetry, ranquillity,nd sensual pleasure.As the manypoetic verses nscribed on the walls of theAlhambratestify,hereare markedparallelsbeween thepoetic ideals of the Nasrid empire and those ofRenais-sance humanists.For example, the Hall of the Two Sis-ters s inscribedby bn Zamrak'spoem,whichafterprais-ing the splendor of thepalace continues,"Moreover wedo not know of any other garden more pleasant in itsfreshness,more fragrantn itssurroundings, r sweeterin the gatheringof its fruits."81Navagero's own poemLusus is of the pastoral genre, and contains manydescriptionsof sweetgardens.

Broadlyspeaking,the aestheticvalues ofboth Islamicand Italiangardens emerged at least in partfrom well-developed poetic tradition.82n both traditions, ardenor pastoral poetrywas in factoftencomposed in thegar-den, inan atmosphereof casual gatherings mong schol-ars and poets. The Islamic poetic formof the rawdiyyatfocused on the sensualityof the garden's sights andsmells,and poetrywas oftencomposed among groupsaround gardens and pools.83 n Italy, romPetrarchandBoccaccio to Angelo Poliziano, PietroBembo, and Nav-

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Fig.10.Granada.Alhambra. he CourtoftheLions,ca. 1370-80. Photo:courtesyftheConwayLibrary,ourtauld nstitute, ondon)agero himself,poets celebrated the idea ofwritingpo-etry n a garden setting. n GliAsolani (1505), Bembodescribes how at the garden near Asolo, a "delightfulfountain,carvedwithconsummate art out of the livingrock .. a little treamofclear,freshwater, ushingfromthe slope, fell into the fountain ... descended with agentle sound into a miniaturecanal ofmarble .. .; here... themurmur f thewater timulates iscourse."84 histradition informedNavagero's description in that henotes that a particular part of the Alhambra gardenswould be an ideal, tranquilspotfor scholar.The samevalues contributedto Raphael's design of theVilla Mad-ama, as the etter nwhich he repeatedly mploysthePli-nean term dyetha, r a place to sit and talk, demon-strates.85Such a parallel culturalbackgroundwas partof whatallowed Navagero to perceivethepalace in the termshedid. In their ensual qualities, fnot in theiruse of archi-tectural anguage, these palaces have more in commonwiththeAlhambra than withthe palace ofCharlesV. In

contrast to the inward-looking,fortress-likespect ofCharles's palace, theVilla Madama and the Palazzo delTe have belvederes ookingout over thelandscape and adissolutionof the boundaries betweenarchitecture ndgarden.86 his should notbe a complete surprise afterall,Charleswas more interested n rivaling heAlhambrathan nrevivingncientforms.He seems to haverealizedthat the Alhambra could best be challenged throughwhat was completely bsentfrom t: whatmostobviouslydistinguishedthe Islamic traditionfromthe Italian onewas the absence of any book on architectureor,morefundamentally,f theconcept of an articulated rchitec-tural anguage. It is thustheory, otpoetry, hat s givenits most emphatic expression in the design of the pal-ace.Although the palace of Charles V had no immediateimpact on Spanish architecture,by the 1560's Spanishinterest n classical architecturewaswidespread, funso-phisticated.87 ike Navagero,many Spaniards imaginedtheydiscerned classical elements in Islamic buildings.



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94 CAMMYROTHERSFor example, Ambrosio de Morales and Alonso de Mor-gado, in 1575 and 1587, saw Vitruvianfeatures n themezquitas of C6rdoba and Seville, and as a result con-cluded that their origin must be Roman rather thanMoorish." Similarly,Azaro de Velasco saw the entryhalls of Moorish buildings n Granada as illustrations fVitruvius's ccount of thenarrow ntrancesto the Greekhouse. Felipe Guevara referred o the ceilingornamentof Moorish plastercraftsmen s Vitruvian n type.89helattertwo examples are of particular interest,becausethey ndicate an ability o see classical features n whattheyknew to be Muslimbuildings. t s as if hey,ikeNav-agero, intuitively iscerned the tracesof a Roman paststillpresent n Nasrid architecturevia theUmayyadtra-dition.But these Spanish authorsare takingNavagero'sperceptual framework step further.While Navagero's

vision of the Alhambra was informed by his classicaltraining, nd his mode ofdescription mergedfrom hatcontext, these Spaniards were reading a particularancient Roman text and citing particular elements ofMoorish architecture as illustrations.Such surprisingresults rose from he naturaldesire tofind ocal illustra-tions of an abstract, ense, and unillustrated ext.90Navagero's account oftheAlhambra had some reper-cussions in Italy.His letters irculatedamong Ramusio'sfriends even before theywere published'9 and allowedthe Italian adaptation of features f the Nasridpalace toclassicizingvillas n Italy.AmongRamusio's close friendswere patron Giulio della Torre and architectMicheleSanmicheli.92Giulio della Torre made medals modeledafter heantique; ofthe fewdedicated to particularpeo-ple, one was forGianbattistaRamusio.93 Ramusio was evi-dently n contactwith he della Torrefamily uringNav-agero's absence; in a letter of 20 February 1526,Navagero asks Ramusio to send his regards to all hisfriends, nd most of all to "i SignoriTorri."94The Villa della Torre atFumane, completedby1562, sofuncertainattribution, ut was most ikely heproductof a collaboration between Giulio della Torre and San-micheli.95 t is positioned on an inclined slope, and isunusual both for tswater ystem nd for the architectu-ral nterpenetration fthegardenand the villa fig.8). Aslopingsite s unusual forvillasof theVeneto,and thehy-draulic problemsitposed would have called for nnova-tive olutions.As illustrated n a map of1752,a channelof waterran throughthe center of the courtyard, ntotwosymmetrical ishponds,down into a formalgardenon a lower level, and into a natural canal (fig.9). Theconnection betweenformal, rchitecturaluses ofwater,irrigation, and natural supply parallels that of theAlhambra. The channel of waterrunning through thecourtyard nd culminating n a centralfountain s a fea-ture also found in the Alhambra's Court of the Lions(fig. 10).96 Although water featured prominentlyinancient Roman gardens, both as a means of irrigationand in decorative, architecturalcontexts such as thenymphaeum, know of no specific talianprecedentsfora water channel being employed in a courtyard.Thus,giventhe absence of obvious models for this featureofthe Villa della Torre,and thefactthatboth thearchitectand thepatronare likely o have read Navagero's letters,theAlhambracould have been its nspiration.9"At the timethe palace projectwas conceived, Charleswas attempting to unite and represent his empirethrough opposition to the Ottomans. Because of thethreat they posed, and consequently the perceivedFig. 11. Granada. Cathedral (begun 1523). Interiorview. Photo:courtesyf theConway ibrary, ourtauld nstitute, ondon)



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Fig.12.Seville.Alcazar.The Patio de las Doncellas,1539-79. Photo:courtesyf theConway ibrary,ourtauld nstitute, ondon)threatposed bythe Moriscos n Spain, theAlhambrawasthe symbol,notonlyof a vanquished empire,but also ofone that continued to threaten the security f Spain'sborders as well as its nternalstability. ust s the Moorsin Spain were seen more in terms f their onnection toMuslims elsewhere than in termsof their ocal heritagein Spain, so theAlhambracame to be perceivednotonlyas an emblemofthe Nasridempire,but as representativeof Islamic culture n general. Such a perceptionallowedCharles's imperial deologyto crystallizen architecturalformust as it had politically nd militarily.The particular political and social circumstances ofGranada thus nformednot onlyCharles's imperial pol-icy, ut also the character of hisarchitectural atronage.As Navagero and Zuan Negro noted, there were few"genuine" Christians n Granada, and the Moorishpop-ulation was largelyhostile to Spanish rule. These facts,and the absence of the monarch,made it all the moreimportantthat the cross and the crown should be sym-

bolically manifestthrough an immense palace for anabsent kingand a grand cathedral for minuscule com-munity f Christians.At a time when constantwarswerestraining mperialfinance,Charles'swillingness o investin these projects demonstrates the faith he placed inarchitectural ymbols.ARCHITECTURAL PATRONAGE OF CHARLES VIN GRANADA, SEVILLE, AND CORDOBA

After he conquest of Granada Ferdinand and Isabellahad built a royalchapel and stipulatedthatthey nd allfuture kings of Castille should be entombed in it.Charlessurpassed thisobligationin patronizing hecon-structionof a new cathedral at Granada (fig. 11). Theplan for he cathedral dates from he1520's,and like thepalace, it turned out to be chiefly symbolic gesture,since a large Christianpopulation had yetto emerge.98In 1500, fiftyhousand Muslims had been convertedto



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96 CAMMYROTHERS

Fig. 3. eville. lcazar.he Patio e asDoncellas,539-79. etailfromhe owertory.Photo: ourtesyf heConway ibrary,our-tauldnstitute,ondon)Christianitynd all the mosques of Granada had beenconsecrated as Christian hurches,both acts thatdefiedthe agreement of 1492 which had allowed Muslims tocontinue practicingtheirreligion and the mosques toremainopen. Despite resistance,by1507 theFranciscanorder of Granada had established themselves in theGreat Mosque which dated fromthe foundation of thecity nd was estimatedby HieronymusMiinzer n 1494 tohave a capacityof severalthousands.99In 1521 a commission was appointed to oversee theconstruction of the new cathedral. It was begun byEnrique Egas in the Gothic style,but in 1528 he wasreplaced by Italian trained Diego de Siloe, who trans-formed taccordingto theRoman style.'"The change inarchitect nd style orrespondsto Charles's involvementin the project. Finding the royal chapel too small andplain for his tomb,Charles decided to make the sanctu-aryof thecathedralan imperialmausoleum.'0'Christiansbelieved that Granada was built on the siteof an earlyChristian ity ounded bySaintCecilius in 64

A.D., which allowed them to see themselvesas the re-storersof Christianityo Granada, ratherthan itsfoun-ders.'02 The construction f the palace in a Roman stylemayalso have been owingin part to the belief thattheAlhambra stood on the site of an ancient Roman city.Though such myths gave these architecturalprojectsancient precedents,theywere nonetheless built adjoin-ing or upon Moorish structures.Although Tafuri andBiget,Herv6and Th6bertare right oemphasize thesim-ilarity f the palace and cathedral projects in theirfor-mal characteristics,rchitectural anguage, and imperialiconography,on a more fundamental evel both build-ingswere constructedon the siteofMoorish structuresof a parallel function.The desire symbolicallynd functionally o appropri-ate Islamic buildingsformedpartofa strategyo rid theMoorishpopulation ofany potentialnodes ofpower.Ona social level,this had entailed persuading the Moorisharistocracyto emigrate or accept officialposts in thelocal bureaucracy.'03 n a physical, rchitectural evel, tmeant occupyingand thenbuildingon sites ofMoorishculture,heritage, nd power.Charles's firstmajor project nSpain was the cathedralof C6rdoba. After he fall of C6rdoba to Ferdinand III in1236, the mosque had been consecrated for Christianworship. It served this purpose until 1523, when thebishop and the canons decided to construct new cathe-dral in its center.The citycouncil and the magistrateopposed this decision, seeking to preserve the ninth-tenth-century osque in itsoriginalstate,but CharlesVdecided in favorof the bishop, and the demolition ofparts of the mosque built byAbd al-Rahman II in 836and al-Mansur n 987-98 began. Construction fthe newcathedral started in 1523 and continued through theend of the eighteenthcentury.'04 lthough the mosquehad served the needs of the Christiancommunityforthree hundred years, uddenly n the sixteenthcenturythe churchfelt he need tomake a gestureofpowerandsubordination over the city'sMoorish past. Like theAlhambra in Granada, the mosque of C6rdoba was toodeeply a part of the city's dentity o allow its total de-struction.The solutionat thetwo siteswas similar: ges-turewas made notbydestroying rreplacingtheold,butbyappropriatingthevenerable statusofthe site. n bothcases, the tacticsof insertion n an existingbuildingfab-ric and stylisticuxtapositionwere employed. Both pro-jects indicate Charles's need to make his sovereigntymanifest, articularlyvis-.-vispain's Islamicheritage, nconcrete terms.The cathedral's densely ayeredornamentationdocu-



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Fig.14.Seville.Alcazar.The pavillion fCharlesV,1543. Photo:courtesyf theConway ibrary, ourtauld nstitute,ondon)ments ts ong building history.tbegan in a lavishGoth-ic style,with racerynd Gothicarches,acquired classicalcolumns and figurative culpture,and was later layeredwith Baroque decorative motifs. As at the palace ofCharles V, the desire to make a statementon behalf ofthe new Christian mpirecould not overcome the ackofa native architectural anguage. Despite his initial sanc-tion,Charles's reaction upon seeing the new cathedralindicates that his hegemonic impulses had not com-pletelyovercomehis aestheticsensitivity.eportedly, esaid of t,"You have takensomethingunique and turnedit ntosomethingmundane."'105Another of Charles's projectswas the remodeling ofthe Alcazar in Seville. In 1523,Navagero described it asfollows:

Behind he churchs anAlcazar,whichwasthepalaceoftheMoorish ings,eryich,ndbeautiful,nd builtntheMoorish tyle.t has beautifulmarble verywhere,nd aprettyountainbel apo)ofwater uns verywhere.hereare baths, nd rooms, nd the water rtfullylows very-where,rulyelightfullacesfor he ummer.t hasa patiofull forange nd emon rees,nd behindmorebeautifulgardens, mongwhich s a beautifulrove forange rees,that sshaded, nd intruthtmaybe themostdelightfulplace nSpain.106

Between 1539 and 1556 Charles remodeled it in a waythat was relatively espectfulof the old fabric of thebuildingand preserved ts slamicfeatures."17First fall,he had the corridors f the Patio de las Doncellas remod-eled in the Spanish plateresque style fig. 12)."'" Abovetheoriginal Mudejar decorationof1369-79 on the owerlevel,he had Roman round arches constructedwithhismotto "Plus oultre"tamped on the upper-storyolumnsand his device of the Pillars of Hercules on the lower-story portals (fig. 13).'09 In the gardens, originallyplanted in the twelfth enturywithorange and lemontrees and surroundedbya boundarywall,Charles builtagarden pavilion,La Alcoba (1543), with arched loggiasaround a centralsquare (fig.14)."0Charles's patronage at Seville indicates that when theNasridpastwas notrepresented n such an obvious,sym-bolically loaded, and thereforepotentiallythreateningway, t could be utilized and molded to suit mperial co-nography.Given that local craftsmenwere trained inMoorish carving nd buildingand that nAndalusia theMoorish stylewas the predominantone, itmakes sensethatCharles should want toappropriatethese traditions.At Granada, C6rdoba, and Seville, the preservationof



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98 CAMMY BROTHERSthe Moorish buildingshad served as a reminderof thevictory f the Christians. n the sixteenthcentury, ow-ever,Charles's imperial ideologymade thispassivesym-bolism nsufficient:hescope of his ambitions nd powercalled for active architecturalpatronage. The stylisticeclecticism that characterizeshis architecturalprojectsin these three cities indicates thathis message had notbeen formulated n a consistentor clear architecturallanguage; the complexityof his position necessitatedboth a contextualand intertextual pproach to the site.Each project took the form of an intervention andreflected he need forthenew Christianrulersto estab-lishtheirpower n relation to Spain's Islamicheritage.Both Navagero and Charles V formulated their re-sponses to the Alhambra according to classical para-digms,but whileNavagero encompassed his experienceoftheAlhambra within heframework fancient iterarydescriptions,Charles V was bound byhis political andhistorical circumstances to perceive the Alhambra intermsof cultural difference.Navagero's descriptionofthe Alhambra in classical termshighlights ts parallelswith talian villas and palaces and mayhave facilitatedtheadaptation of several of itsfeatures t theVilla dellaTorre.CharlesV,on the otherhand, responded to itas asymbolof the conquered but still threatening empirewhichhad to be inscribedwith signofhisdomination.The palace he built answers the challenge posed bythesprawling plendor of the Alhambra withemphaticallyclassical rhetoric and rational geometry.The relation-ship of the two buildings symbolicallyreplicates thestruggleCharles was carrying ut throughout he coun-try: o egitimizehisempire bydemonstrating ismasteryover Spain's Moorish past. But the monument Charlesbuilt on the Alhambra hill with he tributemoneyoftheoppressed Moorish population could not in itself uelltheirresentment. n 1568 the Moriscos rebelled, result-ingin theirexpulsion intocentralSpain by PhilipII, thefall frominfluence of the Mendoza family who weresympathetic o the Moriscos and pleaded for eniency),and the loss offundingfor nd interest n the palace ofCharlesV."' The fateof the palace, as an elaborate sym-bol to an absentking,wasto remain ncomplete.HarvardUniversityCambridge, ass.

NOTESAuthor'sote: would ike o thankHowardBurns,Gfilru ecipoglu,and John Shearman for their generous contributions o myresearch nd thinkingn this opic.

1. In a letter f 13 October1523,Pietro Bembo congratulatedNavagero on his appointment;Andrea Navagero, OperaOmnia, d.Jo. AntonioJ. U. D. [sic] and Cajetano Vulpiis(Padua, 1718),p. 335.2. Charles arrived n Granada on 5 June1526;Earl E. Rosen-thal,The alaceofCharles in GranadaPrinceton, 985),p. 4,n. 2. The festivitieslanned for his entryre describedbyNavagero's ecretaryuan Negro;MarinoSanuto, Diarii diMarino anuto, ol.41 (rept.,Bologna,1894),p. 748.Ramusiohimselfwascompilingnformationor volumeof travel it-erature,Dellenavigationitviaggi;Alice E. Wilson, d. andtrans., ndrea avagero:usus The Hague, 1973),p. 8.3. On 13 September1515,Ferdinand and Isabella's daughterQueen Joan issued a decree stating: The Casa Real, thissumptuous nd excellent difice,hall o remain ecause thewish fmyords he aidking ndqueen [Ferdinand nd Isa-bella], and myown,has alwaysbeen, and is, that the saidAlhambraand Casa be well repairedand maintained, norder that t stand forevers a perpetualmemorial .. andthat such an excellentmemorial nd sumptuous difice sthisnot fallinto disrepair nd be lost" (Dario CabenelasRodriguez,"The Alhambra:An Introduction,"Al-Andalus:TheArtof slamic pain,ed. Jerrilynn. Dodds [New York,1992],p. 132). See also Leopoldo TorresBalbis, "Los ReyesCat61licosn laAlhambra,"Al-Andalus6 1951): 185-205.4. Sergio Sanabria wrote of the palace, "ArchitecturallytsSpanish ocation s accidental,"n a review f EarlE. Rosen-thal'sThePalaceofCharles n Granada n Renaissance uar-terly0 (1987): 338. Similarly,afuri haracterizes herela-tionof Charles'spalace to theAlhambra s that f "a meteorthat has run into the Alhambraby chance" (ManfredoTafuri, icerca elRinascimento.rincipi,ittd,rchitettiTurin,1992],p. 281).5. His volumeof Latinpoetry,usus,was first ublished nVen-ice in1530.

6. Bembo writesn a letter romRome to Cardinal BernardoBibiena, lo,col Navagiero col Beazzano e con M. BaldassarCastiglione con Rafaello,domaniander6 a riveder ivoli,che io vidigiAun'altra volta XXVII anni sono. Vederemo lvecchioe il nuovo,e ci6 che di bello sia in quella contrada.Vovvi erdarpiacerea M.Andrea l quale, fatto l di di Pas-quino,sipartirAer Vinegia" PietroBembo,LeLettere,ol.2,ed. Ernesto ravi Bologna,1990],p. 114).The friendshipe-tweenNavagero,Bembo,Castiglione, nd Ramusio is alsonotedbyVittorio ian, Unillustre unzio ontificoelRinasci-mento: aldassarCastiglioneVaticanCity, 951).7. PietroBembo wrote o NavagerofromMurano on 7 April1527: "lo sono stato n questovostropiacevolesuburbano,concedutomi al nostroRamusio, uindicigiorni on moltopiacermio,e tale chem'incresce artirmene.."; Bembo,LeLettere,. 352. Cristoforo ongueil, in a letterto Bembo,wrote, Huius in suburbano, uum hortus pse ratus nobisspectaculofuit, ta dimensuset descriptus, t omnes tumpomarii um eminariirborum rdines nquincuncemdiri-gentur,texquisitissimombulationum opiario pera ateraeius decumanique limitis amerae convestiantur;um veroomnem expectationemmeam viceruntmaliAssyriae luri-mae,suisquaeque intervallisiscretae, t in certum uoqueordinemdigestae;quas eumdemNavagerium ostrum au-cis ante mensibus evisse udiebam,atque incredibili ua-dam celebritate,olertiaque nd frugem erduxisse: ructu



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THE RENAISSANCE RECEPTION OF THE ALHAMBRA 99mehercule laetissimo, tenimcujus aspectu nihil sit pul-chrius,odore soavius,gustatu ucundius, varietate utematque magnitudinedmirabilius. electatur nimetiamagri-colarumvoluptatibus,ed his honestioribus:tqua diligentiaartes nostras olit, adem profecto umhorto uo rationemhabit" as quoted inMarioCermenati, Un diplomaticonat-uralista el Rinascimento: ndreaNavagero,"NuovoArchivioVeneto4 (1912): 179.8. Forexample,he wrote f thehills roundGranada,whichheis ikelyo havevisited hieflyecause of their otanical nter-est Cermenati, Undiplomaticonaturalista," . 198): "Tuttoe bello: e tutto piacevolea meraviglia;utto bondante diacqua: che non potria sserpili:tutto ipieno di arborifrut-tiferi: ome Pruni d'ogni sorte:Perischi:Fighi: Codogni:Alberges:Albercocche:Ghinde: e altri aifrutti:he apena sipuo veder il cielo fuoradella foltezzade gli alberi. Tuttifruttiono bonissimi:ma tragli altriquelle che addiman-dano Ghindasgarrofaleson emegliori he sianoal mondo,vi sono oltraglialberisopradetti antigranati: si belli: e sibuoni,che non potrianoesserpiu: e uve singulari i assais-sime orte; massime i quei cibibi enzagrani,ne mancanogl'olivi ispessi heparenoboschidiquerce" (AndreaNavag-ero, Il viaggio atto n Spagnaet n Franciadal magnifico .AndreaNavagieroVenice,1563], pp. 24v-25r). On leavingToledohewrote,VadoAtempo, hegia a primavera fuori;non lascer6 l'occasione di considerarqualche erba." Hewriteshat he SierraNevadaare "abbondantedi molteerbemedicinali,ed in questa trovarono l frumentodi tantespighe" (OperaOmnia,p. 324). Navagero'sfascinationwiththevarietyfplants nSpainmayhavegrown utof his read-ing ofPliny he Elder,who makes numerousreferences otheflora fSpain in his NaturalHistory.avageromade fre-quentreferencenhis etters oPliny's omments n ancientcities, o it splausiblethathe would also have known bouthiswritingsn plants.As significants hisability o classifywhathe sees inSpain is his nterestnbringing xoticplantsbackto Italy;he was one of thefirstobring eeds from heNewWorldback to taly, herehe cultivatedhem nhis owngarden Navagero, Viaggio, p. 15v-16r; ermenati, Un dip-lomaticonaturalista," . 186). Navagero's riends new fhisbotanical nterests; orexamplePietro Bembo wrote boutNavagero na letter o Ramusio: Vedochequesta peregrina-zione isarigiovevole, on solo infarli onoscerenuoveerbee pesci e altrecose, come esso dice, che son certoche neritornerfienpieno,ma ancora nfarlipifi ara a qualitadelsuo stato . ." (Bembo, LeLettere,. 256).9. Wilson, d., Lusus,p. 17.10. "DettaAlhambraha le sue muraglie torno:e e com'unoCastelloseparatodal resto della citta: lla qual predominaquasi tutta.Vi e dentrobon numero di case: ma il pili per6del Spatioe occupatoda unbelpalazzo,che era de iReMori:che inveroe moltobello,etfabricato ontuosissimamente,ide marmori ini, omediogn'altra osa: i qual marmori er6non sonone imuri,ma ne i suoli nterra: i una grancorte,6 Spatio,al modo Spagnolo, moltobella, e grande,circon-data da fabrica ntorno,ma da una parte,ha una torre ingu-lare bellissima,he chiamano a Tor de Comarez,nellaqualvi sono alcune sale, e camere moltobone, con le fenestrefattemolto gentile commodamente, on lavori moreschiassai eccellenti, i nelli muri,come nel cielo de gl'allogia-

menti: lavoriparteson di Giessocon oro assai: e partediAvorio, oro accompagnato: n verotutti ellissimi: mas-sime lcielo della sala da basso,e tutti muri.La corte tuttosaleggiatadi finissimi bianchissimimarmi,delli quali visono pezzigrandissimi.ermezzo vi e comeuncanalepienodi aqua viva, 'una fontana he intra ndettopalazzo,e se viconduceper ogni partefinanellecamere. Da un canto a l'al-trodi detto canale vi e una spalleradi mirtobellissima,alquanti p& di Naranci" (Navagero, Viaggio, p. 18v-19r).Unless otherwise oted,this nd subsequent ranslationsremyown. The volume has been translatednto SpanishbyAntonio Maria Fabie, AndresNavagero, ViajeporEspana(Madrid,1983). Excerpts rom t are translatedntoSpanishalongwith ther ravel ccounts nJ.GarciaMercadal,Viajesdeextranjerosor spanayPortugal,vols. Madrid,1952).ThePalacio de Comares,which o impressedNavagero,s the ub-ject of a monograph by Antonio Fernandez-Puertas, aFachadadelPalaciodeComaresGranada,1980).11. "lo sonoqui inunaTerra, el resto ome infiniten talia,madigiardini piit elli, h'iomipossa mmaginare,hepossanoessere;ne bisognavameno a ricrearci el malpatito nmare.Finqui ho notato uttolviaggio, d ilmedesimoho fatto erinnanzi,sicch'iovi porter6una buona Spagna. Di erbe, epesciancora ho trovate on poche cose, delle quali tutte ene far6 arte.Voi nvecediquestofate h'io truovi enpian-tato l luogodi Selva, l'Orto di Muranobello,nelquale vor-rei che faceste orretanto pessiglisi gliarboripiitdi quelche sono,che almen dal mezzo ngirt aressetutto n boscosoltissimo.Al muro dove sono i conastrelli, on movendoper6 quelli,vorrei, he sotto 'invernofacestepiantar aurispessi, icche anche di quelli si postessefaruna spalliera;quali bisogna, he non sieno afrondati a pie,accioche vestatutto l muro.A Selva,fate oltra l resto, he'l Frate mettaquantirosai sia possibile, icch?tutto ia rose.Barcellona ebellissima itta.. " (Navagero,OperaOmnia, p. 297-98).

12. "ASelva moltomicuro d'avere un bosco piantato filagiustoquantosipu6,e con istrade ermezzoeguali. ." (Navagero,OperaOmnia, p. 308-9).13. "Di questo palazzo si esce per una porta secretadi dietro,fuorade la cinta che ha intorno, si intra n un bellissimogiardinod'un palazzoche &pii alto sulmonte, ettoGniaha-lariffe.I qual Gnihalariffenchora che non sia moltogranpalazzo,e per6moltoben fatto bello,e di bellezzadi giar-dini e acque, e la pii bella cosa che habbi vistanSpagna:hapia spatii, utti on acque abondantissime,ma un tragl'altricon la sua acqua corrente ome un canal,permezzopienodibellissimimirti, naranci,nel qual vi & una loggia ch'allaparte hegardadifuora, a sotto i semirti ant'alti he arri-vano poco meno ch'al par de'balconi, i quali si tengonocimatic i eguali,e son si spessi, he parono non cimed'ar-bori,ma unpratoverde gualissimo,onquestimirti inanzitutta uesta loggia,di larghezzadi sei 6 ottopassi,di sottomirtinel vacuo che vi resta, i sono infinitionigli, qualivedendosi lle volte ra rami he purtraluceno, annobellis-simovedere, 'acqua va per tutto'lpalazzo, et ancho per lecamerequando sivuole, n alcune delle quali vi fa un piace-volissimo tar 'estate: n un spatio tuttoverde,e fattounprado con alcuni bellissimi rbori, i fanvenir 'acque di talmaniera, he serrandosi lcuni canali senza che l'huomo sene aveda, standonel prato si sente crescer 'acqua sotto



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100 CAMMY BROTHERSpiedi,si che sibagna tutto. assipii anchomancar enza fat-ica alcuna,etsenza ch'alcuno vedi come" (Navagero,Viaggio,pp. 19r-19v).14. ". . sevogliono ncho farmaggior 'acqua, fannola resceretanto, he non scendo ne i lochi suoi, esce, e inonda tuttigradi, bagna ogn'uno che vi si truova, acendomilleburledi questasorte" Navagero,Viaggio,. 20r).

15. "... in somma al loco non par a me che vi manchi cosaalcuna di bellezza etpiacevolezza, e non uno che'l cognos-cesse,e godesse,vivendovinquiete,e tranquillitanstudii,piaceri convenienti huomo da bene, senza desiderio depiu" (Navagero,Viaggio,. 20r).16. ". . da tanti estigi i luochidilettovoli,ipuo giudicare, hequei ReMorinon si asciavanomancare osa alcunaallipiac-eri,e vitacontenta" (Navagero, Viaggio, . 21r). Navagerohad alsovisited uins roundRome (see above,n. 6).17. Letterof 12 September1525,Letterei diversiutori ccellentilibro rimo, elqualsono tredici,d. GirolamoRuscelli Ven-ice,1556),pp. 706-7.18. ErnstRobertCurtius, uropean iteraturend the atinMiddleAgesPrinceton, 953),pp. 192-97.19. Pliny, etters,ol.1,trans.WilliamMelmoth London, 1923),p. 163.20. Ibid.,p. 23.21. These examples and others are citedbyA. R. Littlewood,"AncientLiteraryEvidence for the Pleasure Gardens ofRomanCountry illas,"Ancient omanVillaGardens,d. Eli-sabethB. Macdougall (Washington, .C., 1987), pp. 11-12,22.22. In a letter f 21 December 1540,Navagero sks Ramusiotosend his copy of Columella (cited by Emanuele AntonioCicogna,Della vita e delle pere i AndreaNavageroVenice,1855],p. 322). In addition oclassical ources,Boccacciomayhaveprovided more mmediatemodel. n the ntroductiontotheDecameron,ewrites fa walledgardenwith fountain

and water hannels.23. Navagero,Viaggio,p. 28v-29r.The Roman city f Iliberriwas located on the otherside of the Darro river,nd it isimpossible o knowwhether herewere ncientbuildings nthepresent iteofGranada. The name ofthecitywas lateradapted to Ilbira,or Elvira Rodriguez, Alhambra," . 133,n. 1;for map ofthe ocation of ancient cities n Spain,seeHelmut Schlunk nd Theodor Hauschild,HispaniaAntiqua:DieDenkmdlererfriihchristlichenndwestgotischeneit Mainzam Rhein,1978],p. 6). Navagerorefers o ancientruins nmany ther nstances; or xample,he wrote na letter f20February 526fromToledo: "Vado Atempo,che gia la pri-maver fuori;non lascer6 'occasion di considerar ualcheerba,metter6 nchequalche pensiero lle regioni nomian-tichi, se la paura di non tardar ropponon m'impedisse,forsi rriver6 Merida,gia EmeritaAugustanella quale Visono molteantichiti, tra 'altreunTeatro, anfiteatro,unCirco,et acqueduttiassai,ne ad andarvis'alle gia molto lcamino,puremiconsiglier6 er viaggio" Ruscelli,Lettereidiversiutori, . 707). At anotherpoint he notes thatthename Elviracomes from lliberis: Ha una stradaprincipalassai arga& molto ongadetta a stradaElvira, l qual nomeancho ha la porta,alla quale terminadettastrada,& dettaElvira, orotto lvocabolo da Iliberis, ercheandava ad Ilibe-ris itta ntiqua,dellaquale sivedeno vestigiid una legadaGranata" Navagero, Viaggio,. 21v).

24. Navagero,Viaggio,p. 14r-14v.25. "La Lambra,che cosi si chiamadoveallogia l'Imperatore,posta soprauno colle... E fabrici la morescha, tperquelche e mipiace assaietnon e bruta.visono de moltefontanedentro t ameni lochi ettropodelitiosi, erchea quel che sivee questimori, oe liprincipali, on atendevano d altro enon a delitie tpiaceri" Sanuto, Diarii,41:750).26. Navagero,however, eems dimly ware of thisdeficiency,describing heMoorishcourtyardttachedto thecathedralof Seville s a "typoortile.27. LeandroAlberti, escrittionei tutta'Italia sole ertinentidessa Venice,1577),p. 47v.Alberti's escrittionei tutta taliawasfirstublished nBolognain 1550, nd then nVenice n1553 and 1557; howeverhis description f Sicilywas notincludeduntil heVenice1561 dition,Aggiuntaviuovamentela descrittionei tutte'isolepertinentid essa talia, ndmy uo-tations re takenfrom he 1577edition.28. "Gionto alla Chiesa vi e un campanile,che e bellissima,altissima orre, ornita i bellissime ampane,e grande, e vimontaperuna scala moltopiana,e senzagradi, omequelladiVenetia, el campaniledi San Marco,mapiu commoda,e

piu chiara" Navagero,Viaggio,. 13v).29. Alberti, escrittioneitutta'Italia, p. 49r-49v.30. Navagero,Viaggio,. 25r.31. Ibid.,p. 26r.Although he Inquisition aid it would be fortyyearsbeforethey nteredGranada,it was in fact betweentwentynd thirty.32. Navagero's I viaggio atto n Spagnaet n Franciamayhavebeen used as a guidefor uture ravelers. rancescoJamis aTomezzo informs s thatca. 1519 he found"a certaindiarywrittennSpanishoftheforesaid rips, fwhich took copytocarry"Tamensetrova ertodiariocomposto nlinguahis-pana di li preditti iazi,de lo qual ho toltocopia per por-tarlo),suggestinghatcontemporaries sed travel ccountsmuch s a modern ouristmight se a guide.Arturo arinelli,Viajes or spaifa Portugal,ol.1 (Rome,1942),p. 197.33. J.H. Elliott,mperial pain, 469-1716 London, 1963),p. 37.34. Ibid.,p. 38.35. JohnLynch, painunder he apsburgs,ol.1,Empirend Abso-lutism,516-1598 Oxford, 964),p. 205.36. Ibid.;EarlRosenthal,TheCathedralfGranada.A StudyntheSpanish enaissancePrinceton, 961),p. 7.37. Elliot,mperialpain,p. 137.38. Ibid.,p. 157.39. Ibid., p. 143;MartinRady,TheEmperorharlesV (London,1988),p. 102.40. Elliot, mperial pain,p. 154;KarlBrandi,The mperorharlesV-TheGrowthndDestinyf Man andof Worldmpire,rans.C. V.Wedgwood London, 1939),p. 195.

41. Castiglionewrote rom eville n 13May1526, L'imperatoree la Imperatrice artiranno redo indubitatamenteunedi,che e domani, per Granata. La maggiorpartedella Cortecredo che tarderichi sei chi ottogiorne" BaldassareCasti-glione,LeLettere,d. PierAnt

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Brothers - The Renaissance Reception of the Alhambra the Letters of Andrea Navagero and the Palace of Charles v - 1994 - Muqarnas