Casa de Pilatos
A duke's home where 150 hand-fired azulejo tile designs paper the walls and every room is named after Pontius Pilate — for reasons that have nothing to do with Pilate.
Coming soon on iOS — be first to walk Seville offline.
Built from 1483, this palace is considered the prototype of the Andalusian palace — Italian Renaissance arches fused with Mudéjar tilework, still occupied by the Dukes of Medinaceli. The Jerusalem theming came from a 1521 Via Crucis procession that started here and covered exactly 1,321 paces, matching the supposed distance from Pilate's praetorium to Calvary. The name stuck; the myth followed.
What to look for
- Around 150 distinct azulejo patterns made in the 1530s by brothers Diego and Juan Pulido — one of the largest early-modern glazed-tile collections in the world
- The Renaissance-style marble gate at the entrance, and elsewhere the work of architect Benvenuto Tortello, who rebuilt the palace in the 16th century while keeping the old Mudéjar rooms intact
- Room names like 'Hall of the Praetorian' and 'Chapel of the Flagellations' — each a souvenir of Don Fadrique's 1521 Holy Way of the Cross, not any genuine Passion-era archaeology
Still a private aristocratic residence; confirm opening hours before visiting as access can vary by wing.
Casa de Pilatos is one of 16 sights worth the detour in Seville, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Seville pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Seville
- Seville CathedralThe church that dethroned Hagia Sophia — and holds Columbus's bones.
- Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán StadiumTwo European finals and a World Cup semi-final on one pitch — more big-match history than almost any stadium in Spain.
- Royal Alcázar of SevilleA working royal palace — the Spanish royal family still occupies the upper floors when they visit Seville.
- GiraldaA 12th-century Almohad minaret wearing a Renaissance belfry — two faiths, one tower, centuries apart.
- ItalicaRome's first city in Spain — and the birthplace of two emperors — is sitting in a field outside Seville.
- Torre del OroOne anchor of a river chain that once sealed the Guadalquivir against an entire warfleet.