Description

The Hospital Real (Royal Hospital) building, located on the Cuesta del Hospicio hill, was founded in 1504 by the Catholic Monarchs, by royal decree. Its construction reflected the Monarchs’ advanced policy of the time, to do charitable works in society by providing the city with infrastructures devoted to education and healthcare. 

Construction began outside the city walls in 1511, on the site of a Muslim cemetery gifted by the Cabildo (City Council). The various phases of the work would last until the 16th C., embracing elements of different styles including Late-Gothic, the Plateresque, Renaissance, and even Baroque. We find, among others, the work of artists and craftsmen such as Egas, Plasencia, García de Praves, Marquina, Melchor de Arroyo, and Alonso de Mena.

This long process of construction was interrupted when, in 1549, a major fire broke out. As a result, the original vision for the building would never be entirely fulfilled, with two of its courtyards left with no galleries, and a further courtyard with no second floor. Diego de Siloe was tasked with assessing the fire damage and planning the reconstruction project. 

The ground-plan of the hospital – based on an Italian model – takes the form of a Greek cross, with four symmetrical courtyards set between the arms, within a square outer perimeter. These courtyards are known as the Patio de los Mármoles, the Patio del Archivo (closest to the main façade), Patio de la Capilla, and Patio de los Inocentes (furthest away).

The building functioned as a hospital until the mid-20th Century, and in the early 1970s it became part of the University of Granada’s rich immovable heritage.

Declared Heritage of Cultural Interest in 1931, the building is now the Seat of the University Rectorate and home to the General Library and other central services. 

It also houses a highly diverse selection of works of art – in particular paintings, but also sculpture, furniture, textiles and precious-metalwork. Its collections date back as far as the 16th C.