The Alhambra and the Tendillas, reasons for an exhibition

The Alhambra and the Tendillas, reasons for an exhibition

The Alhambra is paying tribute to its first Governor, D. Íñigo López de Mendoza (1440-1515), Count Tendilla, with an exhibition which is opening on 6 April at the Chapel and Crypt of the Palace of Charles V. The exhibition entitled ‘Los Tendilla. Señores
de la Alhambra’ (The Tendillas – Lords of the Alhambra) will run until 22 May and is divided into various spaces displaying over 200 pieces, some of them on show for the first time in Spain. The aim of the exhibition is to present an overview of the work done by the different generations of the Tendilla family between the 15th and 18th centuries.
The exhibition is completed with a room dedicated to the members of the Royal Family that visited Granada during this period and a representation of what the armoury of the Alhambra might have looked like.

Almost 300 disabled people will benefit from accessible and inclusive cultural visits to this exhibition thanks to an agreement between the Council of the Alhambra, Kaleidoscope Access and La Ciudad Accesible.

D. Íñigo López de Mendoza, also known as el Gran Tendilla, was appointed Governor of the Alhambra by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, a position held by his successors until the 18th century. He took up residence in a Nasrid Palace where he preserved the most important heritage left behind by the Sultans of Granada, while promoting a policy of engagement and understanding with both the Moriscos and the Jews. His open-minded attitude as a humanist of the Renaissance made him one of the people most responsible for the survival and conservation of the Alhambra that we see today.
The exhibition, which is organized by the Council of the Alhambra and Generalife in collaboration with National Heritage, the National Library, the University of Granada and the Fundación Ballesta, will offer visitors the opportunity to reflect on these vital years in the formation of the Modern State and in the current definition of the city of Granada and the Alhambra.