The Alhambra organizes free guided tours to some of its spaces to mark the Day of Monuments

The Alhambra is taking part in the activities planned to mark the Day of Monuments and Historical Sites, next Friday 18th April, by organizing free guided tours to some of its spaces. To this end and with this year’s slogan “the Heritage of Commemoration” in mind, two different itineraries have been prepared: Opening doors to memory a route that will pass through some of the Alhambra’s most emblematic doors, facades and gates, and Sculpted memories, an itinerary in which the main theme will be the public monuments and plaques erected to commemorate a historical event or occasion.
Those interested in taking part in these activities must reserve their place in advance, as numbers are limited. This can be done through this link alhambra-patronato.es/index.php or in person at the offices in the Corral del Carbón, in the Calle Mariana Pineda, in Granada. It will be impossible to go on these special itineraries without the receipt confirming that you have obtained a place on the tour. Six groups of 30 people each will be formed according to the order of inscription and each group will enter the monument at one of the various set times for visits. A total of 360 places will be available.
The Director of the Council of the Alhambra and Generalife, María del Mar Villafranca, presented these activities this morning and encouraged everyone in Granada to take part in this festive occasion: “It offers a unique opportunity to find out more about our local heritage and approach it from a new perspective. There can be few monuments that portray commemorative heritage as explicitly as the Alhambra does”.
The Route entitled Opening doors to memory will be passing through the Puerta del Vino (the Wine Gate), the façade of the Palace of Comares, the Qubba of the Rauda (Muslim cemetery) and the Palace of Charles V. “Over its long history the Alhambra has gradually grown and developed around its different doors and gates in order to display the grandeur of those who live within them or those who built them. Doors have often acted as a boundary between the public and the private; between the civil and the military. On this tour we will be discovering both their meaning and their architectural value”, Villafranca explained.
For its part, the Sculpted memories itinerary will be calling at different places such as the plaque to the writers Boscan and Navagero in the Generalife; the one about Archbishop Castro in the church of Santa María de la Alhambra; the one dedicated to the Corporal from the Invalids Corps in the Plaza de los Aljibes, or the one marking the centenary of the death of Washington Irving, in the Puerta de la Justicia. The tour will also visit the Pillar of Charles V, commissioned by the Count of Tendilla in honour of the Emperor and the monument to Ángel Ganivet, a writer and diplomat from Granada, situated on the central path through the Wood of the Alhambra.
The International Day of Monuments and Historic Sites is an initiative promoted by ICOMOS, a non-governmental association founded in 1965 which has links with UNESCO. Its slogan for this year, “the Heritage of Commemoration” is inspired by the centenary of the outbreak of the Great War of 1914-1918.
For more information please visit www.alhambra-patronato.es