View of the Patio through a Mullioned Window, House of Pilate, Seville, Spain, 2007 (photo)

The order to build the palace was given by Pedro Enriquez, head governor of Andalusia, but his son, Don Fadrique Enriquez, sponsored the construction after returning from his trip to the Holy Land in 1519. The house was designed as a copy of the praetory of the procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate. The architecture combines the Mudejar, Gothic and Renaissance styles, and the house was also decorated with Roman-Classical sculptures. The patio is surrounded by marble columns which support irregular arches decorated with elaborate Mudejar plaster works. The walls are profusely decorated with colorful Azulejo tiles and stucco.