Laredo Palace

An architectural and decorative flight of fancy in a building that was conceived as a 'complete work' by the architect, Manuel José de Laredo.

Laredo Palace is a mixture of architectural, sculptural and decorative archetypes and elements, inspired by different styles but dominated by the neo-Mudejar style. The building is a set of rooms, towers and viewpoints, porches, terraces and gardens. Visitors will find rooms inspired by the Alhambra (plasterwork, tiles, coffering), by Pompeian frescos (paintings and painted fabrics) and by the Plateresque tradition, and with Modernist, Gothic, Renaissance, Nasrid and Moorish decorative motifs in general. Laredo includes pieces from other monuments in other places, including coffering and small vaults from the Palace of the Condes de Tendilla (Guadalajara); vaults and columns from the Castle of Santorcaz; Spanish-Moorish tiles form the Palace of Peter I in Jaén; and columns from the Monte Loranca Jesuit Penitentiary, amongst others. It is currently a museum dedicated to Cardinal Cisneros, and contains a documentation centre and a specialised library which includes documentary and bibliographic sources relating to the history of the University of Alcalá.