Gate of Justice - Alhambra of Granada

The Gate of Justice is also known as the Gate of the Esplanade because of the large square that stretches out in front of it. Its majestic shape dominates the entire area and has become one of the symbols of the Alhambra .

Of the four outer gates of the walls of the Alhambra, the Gate of Justice, built in 1348, is the most monumental.

Next to it is a round bastion of Christian artillery, from which descends a sculpted stone wall, in front of which is sculpted one of Granada's masterpieces of the Renaissance , the Column of Charles V.

Aside from its structural function, this door has one of the most distinctive symbolic values of the Alhambra : the hand on the keystone of the great arch of the facade and the key on the keystone of the entrance arch (Islamic symbols) contrastingly Gothic. Image of the Virgin and Child by Roberto Alemán, commissioned by the Catholic Monarchs, placed above the Arabic inscription on the base of the door.

At the exit , in 1588, at the behest of the residents of the Alhambra , an altarpiece by Diego de Navas el Joven was erected on the spot where the first mass was celebrated after the conquest. The inside of the door retains some of the beautiful original decoration of ceramic plates in the tips of the horseshoe arch.

Willem Vandenameele