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Isabel: The Life of Isabella of Castile

The Spanish TV series Isabel (2012) follows Isabella of Castile through real places: the Alcázar of Segovia where she is crowned, the Palacio de los Vivero in Valladolid where she marries, the Toros de Guisando and the Alhambra in Granada.

Mapped by Mapped Chronicles editors6 locationsCountries: SpainGPX

Timeline & locations

What do the location labels mean?
Exact
The pin marks the actual place where it happened or was filmed.
Approximate
The right area — a town, park or district — but not a precise spot.
  1. The TV series Isabel starts with the future queen's birth. Isabella is born on 22 April 1451 in a modest palace in the small town of Madrigal de las Altas Torres. The palace was later absorbed into a convent, and the room where she was born can still be seen on the tour given by the nuns. The pin marks the town, not the exact palace.

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    Location precision: The palace is now part of a convent; the pin marks the town of Madrigal de las Altas Torres, not the building.

    Visitor guidance: Ask about the nuns' tour of the palace where Isabella was born.

    Sources

  2. Episode 5 of Isabel builds to this hillside. On 19 September 1468 Isabella and Enrique meet at the Toros de Guisando to proclaim their agreement. The treaty granted her the title of Princess of Asturias and ended a civil war in Castile. Four granite sculptures, bulls or pigs by some readings, still stand in the field and can be visited.

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    Visitor guidance: The four granite bulls stand near El Tiemblo, in the province of Ávila.

    Sources

  3. Isabel stages the royal wedding in Valladolid. Ferdinand makes a secretive trip to meet Isabella, and the wedding takes place on 19 October 1469, officiated by Archbishop Carillo. The real ceremony was held in the Sala Rica of this palace. Today it houses the Provincial Historical Archive of Valladolid.

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    Sources

  4. In Isabel, Enrique dies early on Sunday 13 December 1474, and Isabella is crowned the same day in Segovia, against the advice of the Mendozas, who want to call a council of nobles first. History puts the Alcázar at the centre of it: Isabella immediately took refuge within its walls, received the support of Andres Cabrera, and was enthroned the next day as Queen of Castile and León. The series did film in Segovia.

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  5. The conquest of Granada is the high point of the second season, which filmed on location at the Alhambra. Episode 26 covers the surrender of Granada by Boabdil on 2 January 1492. In real history the monarchs then stayed in the Alhambra, signed the Alhambra Decree on 31 March, and received Columbus's plans in the Hall of Ambassadors.

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    Sources

  6. In episode 39 Isabella is still staying in Medina del Campo, and she dies in a touching scene on 26 November 1504. The pin marks the Castle of La Mota, a red-brick fortress that the crown reclaimed in 1475 and fitted with a bastion bearing the Monarchs' symbols.

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    Location precision: The series places her death in Medina del Campo without naming a building; the pin marks the Castle of La Mota in town.

    Sources

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