The Palms of the Archbishop's Palace

Four Mexican fan palms tower over Plaza de Gracia, planted in 1923 the year construction finished on the Palacio de los Yanguas, the building bordering the square behind a garden wall on Calle Gracia. Architect Fernando Wilhelmi built it between 1920 and 1925 for the family of the Marquis of Casablanca; it later became the seat of Granada's Diocesan Curia, the archdiocese's administrative offices, which is why it is still known locally as the Archbishop's palace even though it was never built as one. Washingtonia robusta grows faster and taller than almost any other palm cultivated in southern Spain, capable of clearing 30 metres given a century, and this quartet has had almost exactly that long: over 100 years of growth, planted deliberately rather than surviving by accident, the way many of the city's oldest trees have. The species takes its genus name from Washington and its specific name from its robust trunk, an American import that became fashionable across southern European cities in the early 20th century for exactly the effect it produces here, four columns of green rising well above the surrounding rooftops. Visible from across the square is as close as most visitors get, since the palace's own garden is not open to the public.