Houses of the Chapiz

The Houses of the Chapiz are situated in the area that was once known in Arab as the Rabad al-Bayda (the White Quarter), which was part of the Albaicin suburb. These two houses, joined together by a gallery, belonged to the same family. They are situated on an enormous plot of land at the corner of the Cuesta del Chapiz and the Camino del Sacromonte.

The larger of the two houses was constructed in the middle of the 16th century, when Lorenzo el Capiz inherited the property at the death of his father in law Hernando el Feri. It was built on the site of an older Nasrid structure and used the same layout. The re-use of certain remains has led experts to suppose the existence of other Nasrid houses in the area. The other, smaller house was built during the same period by Capiz’ brother in law, Hernan Lopez el Feri.

The house of Lorenzo el Chapiz is built around a rectangular courtyard containing a rectangular pool, which during the Nasrid era was surrounded by galleries on each side. Today, only the galleries on the north and east sides remain. The first floor galleries were constructed during the 16th century. The south face was left alone in order to preserve the view of the Alhambra and Generalife[1]. The railings protecting these galleries show European Renaissance influence. This house is surrounded by a large garden. The main room is connected to the house of Hernan Lopez el Feri, though during the 16th century this was only possible at ground level. The northern gallery is equipped with a small hall, which was a kind of common space between the two houses. There is also an arcade, which communicates between the two houses and leads to the rectangular courtyard with its pool. Only the northern wing has a portico. On all four sides, the top floor has a gallery, which leads to the bedrooms. This gallery shows Gothic influence with its lobed supports and its balustrade uprights, which are star shaped in cross-section. Nasrid influences are also notable with the murqanas on the pillars of the arcades, as well the influence of the Renaissance with sculpted vases on the marble capitals. All of these influences are combined within the Granada Madejar style.

Most of the decorative workmanship is shared between the two courtyards. In the larger of the two, white marble columns hold up the galleries. The bases, barrels and capitals are all Nasrid. In the corners of the courtyard, the columns are replaced by half-columns with capitals made of plaster. The ground floor portico has five archways, the arches of which are raised, have a toothed band along their edges and are decorated with plaster sculptures. The main room has a wooden ceiling. The other portico, on the east side, has smooth half-columns, which are supported by pillars. The railings giving onto the courtyard are made of turned wood, which betrays a Renaissance influence. The ceiling of the portico is made up of interwoven fluted elements.

In the courtyard of the house that belonged to Hernan Lopez el Feri, the galleries on the longer sides are held by white marble columns, which are replaced by brick columns in the corners. The arcade leading to the main room is similar to that in the larger house. On the first floor, chamfered pillars support the arches of the north gallery. The railings of these galleries have straight bars, which are star shaped in cross-section. The floor of the gallery is made of bricks arranged in a saw-tooth pattern. The ceilings of the main rooms are made up of wooden slats arranged in a chevron pattern that is typical of Mudejar decorative art.

These two Andalusian style houses have similarities with structures built in a later period in Cordoba and Seville… The houses became crown property after the Moors were expelled in 1581. In 1583, they came into the hands of Don Juan Vazquez Salazar and were rented for occupation until 1919.