1. Palace of Charles V2. Apartments of Emperor Charles V: Queen’s Rooms and Closet3. Church of Santa María de la Alhambra4. Convent of San Francisco (now Parador Nacional)5. Generalife (Renaissance Gardens)6. Walled precinct (Bastions – Tendilla Cistern – Gate of the Seven Floors and Gate Of Justice)7. Basin of Charles V89. Plaza Nueva – Chancellery10. Church of Santa Ana11. Castril House12. Monastery of Santa Isabel La Real – Palace of Dar Al-Horra13. Hospital of San Juan de Dios14. Royal Monastery of San Jerónimo15. Cathedral16. The Madrasa17. Ecclesiastical Curia18. Plaza de Bibarrambla, Alcaicería and Zacatín19. Imperial Church of San Matías20. Casa de los Tiros21. Royal Chapel and Merchants’ Exchange
Gate of the Pomegranates – Russet Towers and Ravelin
On the hill of Mauror, opposite that of Sabika where the Alhambra stands, an important defensive complex was built consisting of three interconnected towers. The Torres Bermejas (Russet Towers) were the principal defensive redoubt to the south of the Alcazaba (citadel) of the Alhambra, and were joined onto the Nasrid complex, forming a continuation of the city wall. At the point where the two fortifications meet was one of the gates of the Nasrid precinct, rebuilt in the 16th century as the famous Gate of the Pomegranates. The interior of the Russet Towers forms a small bailey of an approximately rectangular shape.
Various phases of construction can be distinguished throughout the towers' history. The earliest remains belong to the late 8th and early 9th centuries. After the Christian conquest, constant rebuilding work was carried out, beginning with the reconstruction of the central tower on the basis of the existing Islamic structures, and continuing with a series of enlargements and restoration projects.
The extent of this rebuilding was in consonance with the new ideas and interests of the government of Granada. Retaining the three towers, a new artillery bastion was erected at the west end, facing the city, as part of the programme of fortifications overseen by the Count of Tendilla, the first governor of the Alhambra. This meant a change in the orientation of the defences. Whereas the Nasrids had focused their protection on the hill of Mauror, the Christians built artillery platforms oriented towards the city in order to contain a possible urban revolt.
A large number of Muslim tombstones are to be seen set into the inner walls, showing that the towers were also reinforced by the Christians. The reuse of funerary masonry for rebuilding projects was common at the time, and occurred also in other parts of the Alhambra, such as the enclosing wall which runs from the Gate of Justice to the outworks of the Alcazaba.
In the 18th century, further work was carried out on the surface of the defensive wall and the lime wash of the outer surface of the central tower. In the first half of the 19th century, the Russet Towers were in a state of abandonment and decay. New interior and exterior refurbishment was carried out in the year 1854. The towers have fulfilled various functions since then. From 1769 to 1875 they were used as dwellings, and in 1876 they were converted once more into a military prison.
In 1962, the towers came under the ownership of the Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife. Various projects were then initiated with the aim of preserving and adapting all the outlying areas of the Alhambra.
The outer walls of the Alhambra linking the Alcazaba (citadel) with the Russet Towers, another defensive enclave on the opposite hill, are interrupted at the natural passage of the Gomérez Hill by a monumental Renaissance gate, a replacement for the earlier Muslim gate which had fulfilled the same function. The purpose of the replacement was to construct an image of the newly established power, a foretaste of further images culminating in the Alhambra with the Palace of Charles V and, at an intermediate point on this access road to the heart of the old Muslim fortress-city, with the Renaissance fountain of the Basin of Charles V.
The design strongly recalls that drawn up for another exterior wall, that of the Palazzo Te in Mantua, by Giulio Romano, and other drawings by the same artist, though less well executed in this case. Even so, it perfectly fulfils its function of "sealing off" the precinct - it should be remembered that it is dressed only on the exterior - while clearly proclaiming its new master through its architectural classicism and its ornamental motifs of the imperial coat-of-arms and a prominent set of pomegranates. This fruit is not only an allusion to the city (pomegranate is granada in Spanish) but also a classic royal emblem that had already been adopted as a personal device by the Emperor's paternal grandfather, Maximilian, and had been incorporated by his maternal grandparents into the coat-of-arms of the Spanish monarchy.
