The Isabel La Católica Trail: The Soul of a Queen, Wife, and Mother

Duration: approx. 3 hours.

Groups of up to 30 people.

Languages:ES · FR

Presentation

This tour invites us to discover the personality and spirit of Isabella I of Castile, one of the most significant and influential women in history. We’ll get to know her better—not only her history and reign, but also her more personal and human side. We’ll do so with the guidance of great Spanish historians and researchers such as Luís Suárez Fernández, Vidal González Sánchez, and Antonio Gallego Burín, as well as foreign scholars such as Voltaire and Jean Dumont, among others.

A beautiful and evocative stroll through the streets of Granada will transport us to times gone by, allowing us to relive some of the most remarkable and decisive moments in the life of our protagonist, Isabel.

Woman, wife, and mother

Family members as influential as his mother, Isabel de Avís; his maternal grandmother, Isabel de Barcelòs; his brother Alfonso; and his half-brother Enrique IV of Castile… would shape his personality from his earliest childhood. Furthermore, his youth was enriched by the influence of such prominent figures as the Augustinian priest Martín de Córdoba, his personal confessor Friar Hernando de Talavera, and the Franciscan Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros.

While still a princess, at the age of just seventeen, she rejected countless suitors and chose Ferdinand of Aragon, which meant she had to marry in secret. Her children—Isabel, Juan, Juana, María, and Catalina—would shape her personal, family, and political life.

Soul of a Queen

As a woman of the 15th century, Isabel would display extraordinary strength and conviction in her actions. At the age of twenty-four, she will proclaim herself Queen of Castile and, alongside her husband Ferdinand, will tackle the most delicate and thorny issues of her reign: the Conquest of Granada, the expulsion of the Jews, and the evangelization of the Americas.

Prominent figures such as Cid Hiaya, who would play a decisive role in the course of the War of Granada; Tomás de Torquemada, the most significant representative of the New Inquisition; and Admiral Christopher Columbus, who would lead one of the most momentous discoveries in history; will help us understand the main themes of the Catholic Monarchs’ politics and philosophy.

“I want to be buried in Granada”

Thus is recorded in her will her wish to be laid to rest in the city that was the setting for all her dreams, achievements, and hopes. Gaspar de Grizio, as royal notary, recorded this on the parchment pages as dictated by the Queen.

Where did Isabella the Catholic actually die? What illness took her life, and which doctors treated her? Íñigo López de Mendoza, Count of Tendilla and Marquis of Mondéjar, was commissioned by King Ferdinand to arrange what would be Queen Isabella’s first burial at the Convent of San Francisco in the Alhambra.

Finally, the Royal Chapel—built by her husband Ferdinand and embellished by her grandson Charles V—would become her final resting place. This space brings together art, history, and spirituality, revealing the beauty of the soul of a woman who was ahead of her time: Isabella the Catholic.

Languages available for the tour: Spanish and French.