The Palace of the Lions. The «Happy Garden» of Muhammad V

The Palace of the Lions of the Alhambra, known when it was built in the fourteenth century ‎as the ‎Happy Garden of Muhammad V, is the most visited building in Spain, and was declared ‎a World ‎Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984. ‎

‎The different vicissitudes that passed through the building during its six centuries of ‎existence ‎were no reason for us to forget what its true meaning was, moreover, we have even ‎come to ‎think that it had a ludic or festive character. The recent investigations that we have ‎carried out of ‎the building allow us to know what its function within the palatine city of the ‎Alhambra in ‎Granada could have been. Within the context of the Islamic Art of the XIII-XV ‎centuries, ‎especially of the Mediterranean, its study has shown that it is a construction ‎destined to science ‎and knowledge. The detailed analysis of part of its elements, such as the ‎decorations or the ‎domes of muqarnas that are still preserved inside, evidence the importance ‎of a unique and ‎exceptional building that is miraculously preserved.‎

Juan Carlos Ruiz Souza is a doctor in History of Art since 2000 by the Autonomous ‎University of Madrid. Thanks to scholarships obtained, he has deepened his studies in ‎numerous research institutions ‎linked to architecture and medieval culture.