Ruler Patron Castilian conquest & the Moriscos1492–1610

Isabella I

Lived 1451–1504 (about 53 years)

Also known as: Isabella of Castile, Queen Isabella, Isabella, Isabel I

Isabella I of Castile was born in 1451 at Madrigal de las Altas Torres and was queen of Castile from 1474 until her death in 1504. On 13 September 1504 she and Ferdinand signed a Royal Warrant making Granada their final resting place. She died at Medina del Campo on 26 November, and her body was moved to Granada immediately. It lay provisionally in the Franciscan convent of the Alhambra until 10 November 1521, when the remains went to the crypt of the Royal Chapel.

To follow her trace, start at the Royal Chapel of Granada, built between 1505 and 1517 and closely linked to the Granada Cathedral. In the town, a bronze group on Plaza de Isabel la Católica, a stop on the Centro Histórico walk, shows Columbus meeting Isabella on her throne.

The full story

The marble tomb of Isabella I and Ferdinand II by Domenico Fancelli in the Royal Chapel of Granada, with Isabelline Gothic vaulting and the gilded reja mayor grille in the background

Isabella of Castile in Granada: The Queen Who Chose Her Tomb Here

Isabella and Ferdinand are buried together in Granada's Royal Chapel — her 1504 will chose the city over Toledo, and their tomb took 17 years to build.

Read the full story

Places to see

Basilica of San Juan de Dios

Granada Cathedral

Royal Chapel of Granada

Monasterio de San Jerónimo

The Plateresque stone portal of the Casa de Castril on the Carrera del Darro, with carved shell motifs and grotesque heads

Museo Arqueológico de Granada

Palacio de los Olvidados

Facade of Granada Cathedral with its Renaissance arches and carved stone details on a clear day

Centro / Sagrario

Granada Cathedral facade on Gran Vía de Colón with pedestrians crossing in front

Centro Histórico Self-Guided Walk

Interior of Granada Cathedral showing Diego de Siloé's Renaissance arches and the circular Capilla Mayor with gold stars on blue dome

Granada Baroque & Renaissance Architecture Walk

In their time

Castilian conquest & the Moriscos

1492–1610
Boabdil handed Granada to Ferdinand and Isabella on 2 January 1492, after a siege whose camp became the town of Santa Fe. Enrique Egas drew a Gothic plan for the cathedral in 1518 and building began in 1523. Diego de Siloé, master builder from 1529, changed it into Spain's first fully Renaissance cathedral, with a circular capilla mayor.
1. Monastery of San Jerónimo
  
  1504 Monument
  
  San Jerónimo holds the tomb of the Great Captain in a Renaissance church completed in 1522, with a carved altarpiece and gilded ceilings of exceptional quality.
2. Royal Chapel of Granada
  
  1504 Monument
  
  Isabelline Gothic chapel with the tombs of Isabella I and Ferdinand II. The sacristy holds royal regalia and paintings by Memling, Botticelli, and Bouts.
3. Monasterio de la Cartuja
  
  1516 Monument
  
  Founded in 1516 by El Gran Capitán, La Cartuja's sacristy is one of Spain's most ornate Baroque spaces — marble inlay, gilded altars, and near-total silence.
4. Granada Cathedral
  
  1523 Monument
  
  Granada Cathedral in Spain took 181 years to build from 1523, blending Gothic foundations with a Renaissance interior of five naves and a gilded dome chapel.
5. Mirador de San Nicolás
  
  1525 Monument
  
  Free 24-hour viewpoint in the Albaicín with unobstructed Alhambra views and the Sierra Nevada as backdrop. Crowds peak at sunset; early morning is far quieter.
6. Hernando de Talavera
  
  c. 1430–1507 Historical figure
  
  Hernando de Talavera, Isabella's confessor, became Granada's first archbishop in 1493. He learned Arabic himself and encouraged his clergy to do the same.
7. Count of Tendilla
  
  c. 1440–1515 Historical figure
  
  Íñigo López de Mendoza, Count of Tendilla, governed the Alhambra from 1492 and died in 1515. Find his trace on the Alhambra hill and what to read next.
8. Ferdinand II of Aragon
  
  1452–1516 Historical figure
  
  Ferdinand II of Aragon co-ruled with Queen Isabella through the Granada War, which ended on 2 January 1492, and is buried in the Royal Chapel of Granada.
9. Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba
  
  1453–1515 Historical figure
  
  Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, the Gran Capitán, helped arrange Granada's surrender in 1492 and died near the city in 1515. Where his trace remains in Granada.
10. Pedro Machuca
  
  c. 1490–1550 Historical figure
  
  Pedro Machuca, the Toledo-born architect and painter who designed the Palace of Charles V in the Alhambra from 1527. Where to see his work around Granada.
Go deeper
- Conquest and Moriscos