Zaragoza - La Aljafería

On the west side of Zaragoza is the Castillo de la Aljafería, built by the Moors in the 11th Century, which later became the residence of the kings of Aragon and was largely destroyed in 1809. The Catholic Monarchs stayed in the castle, and it was later occupied by the Inquisition. The Aljafería, the only surviving Moorish building in Zaragoza, contains a number of very fine rooms, notably the beautiful little mosque on the ground floor. A magnificent Gothic staircase with a coffered ceiling leads to the apartments on the upper floor, the palace of the Catholic Monarchs. The focal point of the palace is the Throne Room, with an over-ornate carved and painted artesonado ceiling. In the Sala de Santa Isabel St Elizabeth of Portugal was born in 1271. In the days of the Inquisition the Torre del Trovador was used as a prison. It provided a setting for part of Verdi's opera "Il Trovatore".