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| this image as on Google Streetview |
The house pictured above, named Carmen de los Arrayanes and located in the Spanish municipality of Paradas, seems unremarkable at first glance.
However, the interior has a unique allure, with a surprising design and all sorts of decorative elements, which all together are a faithful replica of the famous palace Alhambra in Granada.
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| this image and the next five courtesy of Serflac, from his video in the documentation |
Life and works
The house is a creation of José Luis Romero (1948-2025), who was born in Paradas and had there a store dealing in fabric and clothing.
He married María del Carmen and the couple got two children.
The idea of building a replica of the Alhambra developed gradually.
It all began when Romero inherited a small book from his father, containing all sorts of black-and-white drawings of the Alhambra palace and he often leafed through it with admiration.
However, the decisive factor was his acquisition of the original 1842 edition of the study by Owen Jones and Jules Goury, entitled Plans, Elevations, Sections and Details of the Alhambra.
It was a purchase for which he had to pay a substantial sum.
Gradually he came up with the idea of building a replica of the Alhambra in his hometown of Paradas.
To achieve this, he bought a house in the early 1990s, which he demolished. In this way he created a 500 m² plot of land where he in 1993, with the help of craftsmen, began building his dream home.
He had made a variety of drawings of the interior of the house, as he envisioned it as a replica of the Alhambra, and during the period of construction, he visited the Alhambra some 140 times to document the details.
During the twelve years that the construction would take, he focused all his energy on this project and did not go on vacation.
More than a hundred different silicone molds were used for the plasterwork, which Romero made himself in a small workshop on the construction site. Some of these molds were as long as three meters.
Approximately 125,000 tiles cover the baseboards, ceilings and hallways.
An impressive element of the building is the octagonal tower, with an opening at the top to the outside air, as shown below. This opening can be opened and closed.
There is also a courtyard framed by semicircular arches, as shown in the image below.
This courtyard houses a swimming pool surrounded by fountains.
Once the construction was completed, José Luis Romero and his family moved into the house.
In 2013 it was opened to visitors, who are welcome, especially on Saturdays, by appointment.
Romero died in 2025, and his wife, Maria del Carmen, and her son, José Romero Muño, currently live in the house.
Documentation
* Article (June 2025) by Lucia Lorenzo in newspaper Turium
* Article (July 2025) by Ezequiel García Barreda in newspaper Lavosdelsur, with illustrations
* Article (Februari 2023) on Instagram, with illustrations
* Entry on Tripadvisor, with a variety of photos
Video
* Video (2022) by Serflac, the scenes of the decorated house start at 03.56
* Another video (November 2025, 3.23, subtitled in English) on Facebook
Jose Luis Romero
La Casa Carmen de los Arrayanes
8 Calla Larga, 41610 Paradas, Sevilla, Spain
visitors welcome on appointment
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