Patio de Machuca

Fountain and Gardens in Granada

Pool, Patio De Machuca, Palace Of Mexuar, Palacio Nazaries, Alhambra 8 — Flickr / Elliott Brown

Patio De Machuca, Palace Of Mexuar, Palacio Nazaries, Alhambra 5 — CC BY-SA 2.0 / El Pantera

Patio De Machuca, Palace Of Mexuar, Palacio Nazaries, Alhambra 3 — CC BY-SA 2.0 / Daniel Villafruela.

Patio De Machuca, Palace Of Mexuar, Palacio Nazaries, Alhambra — CC BY-SA 4.0 / Rumomo

Pool, Patio De Machuca, Palace Of Mexuar, Palacio Nazaries, Alhambra 6 — Public Domain / MarkusMark

The Patio de Machuca or Court of Machuca is a garden and fountain which is part of the Mexuar Palace in the Alhambra Complex, in Granada, Spain. They patio and house are from the 16th century. The garden would have been the original entrance to the Palacio del Mexuar for people who came from the Puerta de las Armas.

Who was Patio de Machuca named after?

Pedro Machuca was a famous Renaissance architect, who designed both the Palacio de Carlos V and part of the Puerta de las Granadas. He was born in Toledo and trained in Italy. He returned to Spain in 1520 and worked in the Royal Chapel of Granada. Pedro Machuca lived in the tower built behind the colonnade on the north side of the courtyard called the Torre de Machuca.

What does the Patio de Machuca look like?

On the north side of the garden there is colonnade or gallery of arches with an attached tower. Opposite the arches at the southern end of the courtyard are cypress trees which were planted in the shape of an arch. These were planted in 1923 by Leopoldo Torres Balbás to reflect that it is thought that originally there should have been another gallery similar to the one in the north.

In the center of the courtyard is a small pool which has a pool shaped like the Roman nymphaea. The nymphaea was a pool or natural spring, traditionally considered the habitat of nymphs, that was used for rituals and other events, like marriages. In the 16th century the nymphaeum became a feature of Italian gardens.

Although they are long gone there would have been, circular fountains located on the smaller sides of the patio, as well as fountains in the form of small lions that poured water into the central pool.

Where is the Patio de Machuca located?

The patio to the east of the stands to the east of the Madrasa de los Príncipes, south east of the Torre de Mohamed, south of the Torre de Machuca and to the west of the Sala del Mexuar.

The Patio de Machuca appears in our Complete Guide to Visiting Granada!

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Visiting Patio de Machuca

Hours:

Patio de Machucais normally restricted. However if you access the Nasrid Palaces in a group you pass close by it.

For opening times of the Patio de Machuca see Alhambra Opening Times.

Price:

The Patio de Machuca is part of the Alhambra Complex and access it you need to purchase Alhambra Tickets or a Alhambra Guided Tour.

Duration: 10 minutes

Official Website