On the highest hill of the city, at 548 m, the solitary rectangular mass of the Alcázar dominates the horizon. The remains of earlier structures indicate that it has always been a fortified location, since the days of the Roman Praetorian and the defence of the Muslim fortress.
The present building was ordered to be built by emperor Carlos V as a royal residence. To do this, the previous medieval castle was almost completely destroyed, although on the East facade there still remain battlement structures. Each facade of the building shows the artistic time in which it was constructed within the different stages of the Spanish Renaissance.
Its first and main architect was Alonso de Covarrubias from 1545, but Villalpando contributed to a patio and it was finally Juan de Herrera who was responsible for the monumental staircase under a barrel vault and the alteration to the southern wing that it houses.