The Alhambra, Granada
The Nasrid palaces, the Generalife gardens and the old Moorish quarter of the Albayzín. UNESCO listing (opens the UNESCO site) ↗︎
History
The story of Spain
Spain's Mediterranean story begins with the Phoenicians, who founded Gadir, today's Cádiz, one of the oldest cities in western Europe. Rome made Hispania one of its richest provinces; the emperors Trajan and Hadrian were both born near Seville. From 711 much of the peninsula became al-Andalus, and under the caliphs of Córdoba it was one of the most learned places on earth.
In 1492 the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, took Granada, and the same year Columbus sailed west. The century that followed, the Siglo de Oro, gave Spain Cervantes, El Greco and Velázquez. The Bourbon dynasty, which reigns today, came to the throne in 1700, and the Constitution of 1978 made Spain the parliamentary monarchy it is now.
A short timeline
- Phoenicians and GreeksFrom c. 1100 BC
Trading ports along the southern and eastern coasts.
- Hispania2nd century BC to 5th century AD
Roman cities at Tarragona, Mérida and Italica.
- Al-Andalus711 to 1492
The Great Mosque of Córdoba, the Alcázar of Seville and the Alhambra.
- The Golden Age16th and 17th centuries
Habsburg Spain; Cervantes, El Greco and Velázquez.
- The BourbonsFrom 1700
The Royal Palace of Madrid and the Prado, opened in 1819.
- Modern Spain1978 to today
A parliamentary monarchy and, since 1986, a member of the European Union.
