Generalife

Palace in Granada, Spain

The Generalife (xe. ne.ɾa.ˈli. fe; جَنَّة الْعَرِيف) was a summer palace and country estate of the Nasrid rulers of the Emirate of Granada in Al Andalus. It is located directly east of and uphill from the Alhambra palace complex in Granada, Spain.

The most commonly cited etymology for the name "Generalife" is that it derives from jannat al ‘arīf (جَنَّة الْعَرِيف) which may variously mean "Garden of the Architect", "Garden of the Artist", "Garden of the Gnostic", According to Robert Irwin, however, this traditional etymology is unlikely and the true origin of the name is not clearly known.

In the Nasrid period, the Generalife was an almunia (from Arabic al munya, meaning "farm"), a country villa that was used both as a private retreat by elites as well as a farming estate with agricultural functions. The creation of such rural estates and gardens by rulers and elites in al Andalus dated back to the Umayyad period (8th 10th centuries). Their existence in Granada is recorded as early as the Zirid period (11th century). Other Nasrid period examples of this type were located on the nearby mountainside, such as the Alijares Palace and the Dar al 'Arusa (both probably from the 14th century), Even if he did not begin its construction, Muhammad III at least contributed to some of its early decoration and he was responsible for adding the mirador chamber in the palace's northern pavilion. Later Nasrid rulers carried out their own works on it in turn. According to an inscription, it was remodelled and redecorated soon after by Isma'il I in 1319. Théophile Gautier, a mid 19th century visitor, complained that: Of the Generalife nothing now remains but some arcades and some large panels of arabesques, unfortunately plastered over with layers of whitewash that have been applied again and again with all the obstinacy of a dispiriting cleanliness. Little by little the delicate sculptures and the marvellous guilloches of this fairy like architecture have been obliterated, filled up, and engulfed. What is at present nothing more than a faintly vermiculated wall, was formerly open lace work as fine as those ivory leaves which the patience of the Chinese carves for fans. The present day look of the gardens, in particular the Jardines Nuevos ("New Gardens"), is in large part due to Leopoldo Torres Balbás and Francisco Prieto Moreno, who rearranged much of it between 1931 and 1951 and imparted Italian influences on their design.

The Generalife today includes a mix of original Nasrid period elements as well as extensive modern elements (especially in the appearance of the gardens). The walkways are paved in traditional Granadian style with a mosaic of pebbles: white ones from the River Darro and black ones from the River Genil. Between these, along the courtyard's long axis, runs a water channel or pool lined on either side with water jets spouting water across the pool. On the courtyard's short axis is a paved path. At the middle of this path, in the axial center of the courtyard, is a paved platform, which originally would have had its own central fountain.

Above the Patio de la Sultana in turn is the celebrated Water Stairway or Escalera del Agua, a four flight staircase whose balustrades on either side are carved with water channels that run along their top and along the entire length of the staircase. Although a main entrance existed for visitors at the southern end of the grounds, the Nasrid rulers could reach the Generalife palace directly from the Alhambra through a private covered passage, partly sunken and hidden between walls, that crossed the ravine between them. This passage, which still mostly exists today, began at the Torre de los Picos on the Alhambra side and crossed the orchards and market gardens until it reached the Generalife Palace through a group of fortified towers at the palace's southwestern end, granting direct entry into what is now the Patio de Polo. Roughly halfway along this passage was a small irregular courtyard with a watering trough for animals. A lower gate along the same passage also granted direct access to the market gardens.