Pilate's House
The Renaissance in its purest form
It is considered a prototype of Andalusian palace. The construction of the palace began in 1483, by initiative and desire of Pedro Enríquez de Quiñones (IV Adelantado Mayor de Andalucía) and his second wife Catalina de Ribera, founders of the House of Alcalá. The building was erected on several plots of land that had been confiscated by the Inquisition. The death of Pedro Enríquez in 1493, led Doña Catalina to be in charge of the initial configuration of the palace. Her son Fadrique Enríquez de Ribera and her grandson Per Afán de Ribera y Portocarrero expanded and completed the decoration of the House.
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Fadrique Enriquez (first Marquis of Tarifa) was a nobleman between the late Middle Ages and modernity, represented by the Renaissance. Between 1518 and 1520 he made a pilgrimage trip to the holy city of Jerusalem, in which he crossed all of Italy, and in which he was deeply impressed by the Renaissance art that prevailed in Italian cities. On his return he transferred those Renaissance manners he had observed to the Casa de Pilatos, combining the Italian Renaissance style with the Sevillian Mudejar, in the extensions he made to the palace, occupying several plots of land annexed to it. Per Afán de Ribera, nephew and heir of Don Fadrique, was a great collector of art that he collected during his stay as viceroy of Naples, made reforms between 1568 and 1571 that hosted his vast collection.
