Episcopal Palace, Tarazona

The Episcopal Palace (Tarazona de Aragón, Spain) in Tarazona, Spain, is a Spanish Renaissance palace that began as a Muslim zuda, a fortress built during Islamic rule, and whose current Renaissance character was shaped mainly in the 16th century. It became the principal residence of the bishop of Tarazona and has played roles in royal and regional politics across several centuries; it was declared a Property of Cultural Interest, Monument category, in December 2020.

The earliest phase saw the site used as a Muslim fortress and later adapted as a residence for the kings of Aragon. In 1386, after the episcopal houses at El Pueyo in the Almehora quarter were destroyed, Bishop Pérez Calvillo purchased the building and began a major campaign of adaptation to serve as the bishop’s home. Work begun at that time continued in successive generations and reached completion during the episcopate of Bishop González de Munébrega, which ran from 1547 to 1567.

By the late 16th century the palace also served important political functions. In 1591 Philip II convened the Cortes of Aragon in the building following the Alterations of Aragon, royal measures that curtailed some local institutions and reduced the authority of the Justice of Aragon. A Cortes session held and endorsed by Philip II on 2 December 1592 was likewise celebrated in the palace’s principal hall. The diminution of the Justicia’s powers in these years formed part of a longer process of centralising royal authority in Spain.

The office of Justice of Aragon was later abolished definitively by the New Plant Decrees of 1707, which reorganised institutions across territories of the crown. Centuries later, on 2 December 1987 an extraordinary session of the democratic Cortes of Aragon was convened in the palace’s Hall of Bishops to elect Emilio Gastón as the 67th Justice of Aragon. That election was the first occupant of the office in 280 years and took place 395 years after the 1592 session mentioned above.

In the early 20th century, three richly carved Mudéjar wooden ceilings were removed from the palace and sold to American collector William Randolph Hearst; one of those ceilings is now located in Monterrey, Mexico. Recent conservation work has focused on re-roofing, stabilising the structure and fully restoring and covering the Renaissance courtyard. Several rooms have been adapted for exhibitions and public display, while additional work on façades and interiors remains required to preserve and complete the palace’s fabric.