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Real Maestranza de Caballeria de Granada: noble horsemen in blue coats with silver braid riding past an 18th-century wooden bullring at golden hour, with the Sierra Nevada behind

Real Maestranza de Caballeria de Granada and Its Bull Licence

Founded in 1686 on Seville's model, Granada's Real Maestranza won a 1739 licence for two bull festivals a year and built the Plaza del Triunfo in 1768.

Portrait of James Walker
Written by

Seven years resident in Granada. Specialist in Nasrid architecture, Al-Andalus history, and Andalusian walking routes.

Published
Baroque & Enlightenment1610–1808
The Real Maestranza de Caballeria de Granada was founded in 1686 as a noble cavalry militia, and one historian concludes that it failed at exactly that job.[1] It survived anyway, won a royal licence for two bull festivals a year[2] and built the wooden ring where its bulls ran until a fire destroyed it in 1876.[3] Its house in La Trinidad has been opened for guided visits by booking, so check with the order before turning up.[4]
Baroque & Enlightenment1610–1808
Order founded
12 Jan 1686
Privilege of Charles II, a day after the city council agreed[5]
Promoters of the order
25 nobles
Led by Pedro Verdugo y Albornoz and the Alhambra's alcaide[7]
Bull festivals licensed
2 a year
Royal cedula of 19 February 1739, held outside the city walls[2]

In this article

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Why a city of nobles copied Seville

The order was founded on 12 January 1686 by privilege of Charles II, the day after Granada's city council agreed to it.[5] Its model was the Maestranza of Seville, and Granada copied it.[6]
Twenty-five local nobles drove the project, led by Pedro Verdugo y Albornoz, a knight of Alcántara, and Blas Manuel de Paz, alcaide of the Alhambra, with the corregidor's authorisation.[7] Joining took more than a title: a maestrante had to be noble, know how to ride and own at least one horse with its equipment.[8]
The motto, Pro republica est dum ludere videmur, alludes to the riding games, and the first emblem showed two horses and their gear.[9] The first printed statutes, from March 1687, were never submitted for royal approval and so carried no official standing.[10] The patron was the Immaculate Conception under the title Nuestra Señora del Triunfo.[11]

The riding club the Crown tried to turn into cavalry

For its first decades the order was a riding club with a public face. Equestrian exercises were its only activity: it hired a riding master and gave public displays every year at the Campo del Triunfo or on the Genil and Darro rides.[12] Because only men who already kept a horse and its equipment could join, those displays mostly showed off what the members already owned.[8]
The covered lanes of the Alcaicería market in Granada, with hanging lanterns and arched doorways

Explore nearby · Monument

Alcaicería

Granada's historic silk market, rebuilt after 1843 in Neo-Moorish style. Small shops sell ceramics, taracea woodwork, spices, and leather goods. Free to enter.

Activity slackened at the end of the 17th century and during the War of the Spanish Succession. From 1725 the Crown set out to revive the maestranzas as reserve cavalry that could help horse breeding.[13]
It did not work. Inmaculada Arias Saavedra judges that Granada's maestranza failed as a paramilitary force for the Crown and served the nobility's own interests.[1] The record agrees: its most concrete service was a share in putting down the 1748 bread riot,[14] and its mathematics academy for members ran with uneven results from 1764.[15] The Crown asked for cavalry. Granada's nobles supplied displays, a posse against hungry rioters and a mathematics class.

What the 1739 and 1741 grants changed

Three royal grants in nine years gave the order its shape:
  • 1739, cedula of 19 February: the hermandad became the Real cuerpo de la Maestranza, and the corporation and its members received privileged jurisdiction.[16]
  • 1741, cedula of 4 September: a royal infante became honorary director with the title Hermano Mayor, and Philip, Duke of Parma, was the first.[17]
  • 1748, cedula of 13 September: after suspicion of the fuero militar held by the Seville and Granada maestranzas, it was narrowed to the corporation and to members resident in the seat city.[18]
The 1739 grant also carried the licence that shaped the order's public life: two festivals of toros de vara larga a year, held outside the city walls and paid for from the order's own funds.[2] Bulls had been an afterthought until then: the order's showpieces were mounted games such as canas, escaramuzas, alcancías and parejas, and it had paid little attention to bullfighting.[19] The licence changed that. Bulls became the order's public face, a spectacle staged for the whole city and not only for its own members.
Three infantes held the post of Hermano Mayor in turn: Philip of Bourbon, Duke of Parma (1741 to 1765), Gabriel de Borbón (1765 to 1788) and Carlos María Isidro (1788 to 1834).[20] Carlos María Isidro held it longest, for 46 years, a span that took in the Napoleonic invasion after which the riding faded. After 1834 the title stayed with the Crown, and Felipe VI holds it today.[20][21]

From a wooden ring on the Genil to the Plaza del Triunfo

The order's first bull festivals were held in a demountable wooden ring on the Carrera del Genil, opposite the Humilladero.[22] Being demountable, it could be put up for a festival and taken away again. A concord with the city council in 1751 made the two bodies take turns, which left the order with four corridas every two years.[23]
1066 Granada massacre scene in Jewish history: a mob attacking the Jewish quarter of Nasrid-era Granada at dusk, the Alhambra hill silhouetted in the background, smoke rising over whitewashed rooftops, sombre red and amber tones

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In 1763 the Maestranza decided to build a permanent ring like those of Seville and Madrid, and the royal permission added two corridas a year, making eight every two years.[24] The permit required a site outside the walls and a cost of no more than 200,000 reales.[25] The finished ring was circular and wooden, on stone foundations, and cost more than 200,000 reales,[37] and the works appear to have exceeded the cost the permit fixed.[38]
The ring went up at one end of the Campo del Triunfo, next to the San Lázaro quarter, and the siting caused strong local tension with ministers of the Real Chancillería.[26] The first corridas there took place in September 1768.[27]

Opening day and the rules of the ring

The first fight in the new Plaza del Triunfo used eleven bulls from Pablo Rivero of Jerez.[28] Matadors and picadors wore blue coats with silver braid, the order's colours.[29] Morning sessions normally ran about four bulls and afternoons twice as many.[30]

Bans, novilladas and the fire

The royal bans on fatal bullfights in 1778 and 1785 hit the order only partly: it defended its rights and had corridas converted into novilladas.[31] Then the ring burned. A fire destroyed it on 10 September 1876,[39][40] and until that day it had been the only permanent ring in the city, though one university source dates the fire to 1874.[41]

What the order is today and where it sits

After the Napoleonic invasion the riding exercises were gradually abandoned in favour of social events and charitable work.[32] The order's own description of its aims now puts ties with the Crown first.[33] Today the order supports cultural and social activities, heritage restoration and the Hernán Pérez del Pulgar prize, and it marked its 300th anniversary in 1986.[33]
It is one of the five surviving Reales Maestranzas, alongside Ronda, Seville, Valencia and Zaragoza,[34] and on 30 May 2025 Granada hosted their annual meeting, chaired by Felipe VI at the Real Monasterio de San Jerónimo.[35]

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The wooden ring is gone. The corporation still has a Granada address, the Casa de la Real Corporación, at calle Laurel de las Tablas 12, in the historic barrio of La Trinidad.[36] Over more than three centuries the order has outlasted the Crown's hope of using it as cavalry, the bullring it built and the riding it was founded for. It adapted.

Check before you go

A guided visit to the Casa de la Real Corporación has been listed as requiring prior booking; the listing gives 958 02 78 05 as the booking line for that programme. Confirm availability before building a trip around it.[4]

Frequently asked questions

What is the Real Maestranza de Caballeria de Granada?
It is a corporation of Granada nobles founded in 1686 as an equestrian militia on the pattern of the old military orders. It later became a ceremonial and charitable body with the king of Spain as its Hermano Mayor, and it is one of five surviving royal maestranzas.

When was the Real Maestranza de Granada founded and by whom?
On 12 January 1686, by privilege of Charles II, after Granada's city council agreed the day before. Twenty-five local nobles promoted it, led by Pedro Verdugo y Albornoz and the Alhambra's alcaide, Blas Manuel de Paz.

What does Nuestra Señora del Triunfo mean for the Real Maestranza?
Nuestra Señora del Triunfo is the title under which the Immaculate Conception became the order's patron at its foundation. Saint John of God is today's co-patron.

Did the Real Maestranza de Granada run the city's bullring?
Yes. From the 1739 licence for two festivals a year it staged the bulls itself, first in a demountable wooden ring on the Carrera del Genil and, from September 1768, in its own Plaza del Triunfo. A fire destroyed that wooden ring in 1876.

Can you visit the Real Maestranza de Caballeria de Granada?
Its house, the Casa de la Real Corporación, is at calle Laurel de las Tablas 12 in La Trinidad,[36] and a guided visit has been listed with prior booking only.[4]

How many royal maestranzas are there in Spain?
Five survive: Ronda, Seville, Granada, Valencia and Zaragoza. Granada hosted their annual meeting on 30 May 2025.

Who is the Hermano Mayor of the Real Maestranza de Granada?
King Felipe VI holds the title. The post went to a royal infante from 1741, starting with Philip, Duke of Parma, and after 1834 it stayed tied to the Crown.

Sources

41 references Show
  1. www2.ual.es (opens in a new tab)

    “la de Granada fracasó como institución paramilitar que pudiera servir a la Corona como fuerza de caballería de reserva y solo sirvió los intereses de la propia nobleza.”

  2. www2.ual.es (opens in a new tab)

    “se concedió a la corporación la celebración anual de “dos festejos de toros de vara larga”, en un lugar extramuros de la ciudad, para financiarse con sus fondos.”

  3. dialnet.unirioja.es (opens in a new tab)

    “destrucción por un incendio en 1876”

  4. granada.org (opens in a new tab)

    “Requiere reserva previa en el teléfono 958 02 78 05”

  5. rmcg.es — Historia (opens in a new tab)

    “La Real Maestranza de Caballería de Granada fue fundada el 12 de enero de 1686, por privilegio del rey Carlos II, tras acuerdo del Cabildo municipal adoptado el día anterior.”

  6. www2.ual.es (opens in a new tab)

    “En 1686 nació la Maestranza de Granada a imitación de la de Sevilla.”

  7. www2.ual.es (opens in a new tab)

    “Un grupo de veinticinco nobles granadinos, liderados por Pedro Verdugo y Albornoz, caballero de Alcántara, y por el alcaide de la Alhambra, Blas Manuel de Paz, autorizados por el corregidor, conde de Torrepalma”

  8. www2.ual.es (opens in a new tab)

    “Para ser admitido como maestrante era imprescindible, además de ser noble, conocer el arte de la equitación y poseer al menos un caballo y una serie de pertrechos”

  9. www2.ual.es (opens in a new tab)

    “Su emblema inicial representa dos caballos y los pertrechos necesarios para éstos y su lema, Pro republica est dum ludere videmur, hace alusión a estos juegos.”

  10. censoarchivos.cultura.gob.es (opens in a new tab)

    “Las constituciones de la Maestranza fueron impresas en marzo de 1687. Estos Estatutos no fueron sometidos a la aprobación real, por lo que no tenían carácter oficial.”

  11. rmcg.es — Historia (opens in a new tab)

    “Se nombró por Titular Patrona a María Santísima, Nuestra Señora, en el Soberano Misterio de su Concepción Inmaculada, con su advocación de Nuestra Señora del Triunfo.”

  12. www2.ual.es (opens in a new tab)

    “Los ejercicios ecuestres eran su actividad exclusiva, se contrató un profesor de equitación y anualmente se realizaban funciones públicas en el campo del Triunfo o en las carreras del Genil y del Darro”

  13. www2.ual.es (opens in a new tab)

    “El proyecto incluyó a las Maestranzas, que fueron consideradas una fuerza de caballería de reserva, que podía contribuir al fomento de la ganadería caballar.”

  14. www2.ual.es (opens in a new tab)

    “En 1748 los maestrantes granadinos contribuyeron a la represión de un motín popular surgido en Granada por la carestía del pan.”

  15. www2.ual.es (opens in a new tab)

    “Creó una academia de matemáticas que funcionó con desigual fortuna a partir de 1764”

  16. www2.ual.es (opens in a new tab)

    “En 1739 se concederían los privilegios más importantes (real cédula 19-02): dejó de llamarse “hermandad” para titularse “Real cuerpo de la Maestranza” y la corporación y sus miembros obtuvieron jurisdicción privilegiada.”

  17. www2.ual.es (opens in a new tab)

    “Dos años más tarde (real cédula 4-09-1741) se concedía que su director honorífico fuera un infante real, con el título de hermano mayor, siendo nombrado como tal el infante don Felipe, duque de Parma.”

  18. www2.ual.es (opens in a new tab)

    “Ante los recelos provocados por el fuero militar de las Maestranzas de Sevilla y Granada, más tarde se restringió éste a la corporación y a los maestrantes residentes en las ciudades sede”

  19. dialnet.unirioja.es (opens in a new tab)

    “Antes de esta concesión la Maestranza de Granada no había prestado demasiada atención a la fiesta de toros”

  20. rmcg.es — Historia (opens in a new tab)

    “Don Felipe de Borbón, Duque de Parma (1741-1765), a Don Gabriel de Borbón (1765-1788), Don Carlos María Isidro de Borbón (1788- 1834).”

  21. rmcg.es — Preambulo (opens in a new tab)

    “Esta conexión, hoy simbolizada por el hecho de que S.M. el Rey Felipe VI (q. D. g.) ostente el título de Hermano Mayor, forma parte esencial de su identidad.”

  22. www2.ual.es (opens in a new tab)

    “Inicialmente los festejos se celebraban en la Carrera del Genil, frente al Humilladero, en una plaza de madera desmontable.”

  23. www2.ual.es (opens in a new tab)

    “en 1751 se alcanzó una concordia con el ayuntamiento y ambas instituciones se turnaron en la celebración de los festejos, pasando la Maestranza a celebrar cuatro corridas cada dos años.”

  24. www2.ual.es (opens in a new tab)

    “En 1763 la Maestranza decidió construir una plaza permanente como las de Sevilla y Madrid.”

  25. dialnet.unirioja.es (opens in a new tab)

    “La plaza debería construirse, según el permiso regio, extramuros de la ciudad y sin exceder los 200.000 reales de costo”

  26. www2.ual.es (opens in a new tab)

    “La construcción de la plaza y su ubicación en un extremo del Campo del Triunfo, junto al barrio de San Lázaro, originó fuertes tensiones locales con los ministros de la Chancillería”

  27. dialnet.unirioja.es (opens in a new tab)

    “Pese a todo ello la Maestranza celebró las primeras corridas en la plaza del Triunfo en septiembre de 1768.”

  28. dialnet.unirioja.es (opens in a new tab)

    “En la primera corrida celebrada en la Plaza del Triunfo se lidiaron once toros de D. Pablo Rivero de Jerez”

  29. www2.ual.es (opens in a new tab)

    “Los diestros, picadores de vara larga y matadores de a pie, llevaban casaca azul con galones de plata, los colores y divisa de la Maestranza.”

  30. dialnet.unirioja.es (opens in a new tab)

    “Por la mañana se lidiaba un número menor de toros, generalmente cuatro, y por la tarde solía lidiarse el doble”

  31. www2.ual.es (opens in a new tab)

    “La prohibición de corridas de muerte en 1778 y 1785 solo afectó parcialmente a la Maestranza de Granada, que, haciendo valer sus derechos, consiguió conmutar las corridas por novilladas”

  32. www2.ual.es (opens in a new tab)

    “Tras la invasión napoleónica se produjo su abandono progresivo, en beneficio de otros festejos sociales y actividades benéficas.”

  33. rmcg.es — Historia (opens in a new tab)

    “La Real Maestranza de Caballería de Granada centra sus actividades en apoyar y estrechar cada día más los lazos con la CORONA, en fomentar y ayudar en actividades culturales y sociales”

  34. rmcg.es — Corporacion (opens in a new tab)

    “—Ronda, Sevilla, Granada, Valencia y Zaragoza—”

  35. graorivas.es (opens in a new tab)

    “El acto central se celebró en el Real Monasterio de San Jerónimo, presidido por Su Majestad el Rey Felipe VI”

  36. rmcg.es — Corporacion (opens in a new tab)

    “La Casa de la Real Corporación de la Real Maestranza de Caballería de Granada se encuentra en la calle Laurel de las Tablas, n.º 12, en el histórico barrio de La Trinidad.”

  37. corpusgranada.com (opens in a new tab)

    “Este coso taurino costó más de 200.000 reales, tuvo un ruedo circular y fue fabricado en madera, aunque los cimientos y la portada se realizaron en piedra.”

  38. dialnet.unirioja.es (opens in a new tab)

    “todo parece indicar que las obras excedieron al costo fijado por el permiso regio”

  39. corpusgranada.com (opens in a new tab)

    “El 10 de Septiembre de 1876 tuvo lugar un incendio que arruinó por completo la estructura.”

  40. miradordeatarfe.es (opens in a new tab)

    “Hasta que en 1876, ésta quedó reducida a cenizas, destruida por un voraz incendio.”

  41. www2.ual.es (opens in a new tab)

    “La plaza estable de madera, construida por la Maestranza en 1768, fue la única existente en Granada, hasta su destrucción por un incendio en 1874.”