Laredo Palace is a mixture of architectural, sculptural and decorative archetypes and elements, inspired by different styles but dominated by the neo-Mudejar style. The building is a set of rooms, towers and viewpoints, porches, terraces and gardens.Visitors will find rooms inspired by the Alhambra (plasterwork, tiles, coffering), by Pompeian frescos (paintings and painted fabrics) and by the Plateresque tradition, and with Modernist, Gothic, Renaissance, Nasrid and Moorish decorative motifs in general.
Laredo includes pieces from other monuments in other places, including coffering and small vaults from the Palace of the Condes de Tendilla; vaults and columns from the Castle of Santorcaz; Spanish-Moorish tiles form the Palace of Peter I in Jaén; and columns from the Monte Loranca Jesuit Penitentiary, amongst others.
It is currently a museum dedicated to Cardinal Cisneros, and contains a documentation centre and a specialised library which includes documentary and bibliographic sources relating to the history of the University of Alcalá.
References:The Château de Foix dominates the town of Foix. An important tourist site, it is known as a centre of the Cathars. Built on an older 7th-century fortification, the castle is known from 987. In 1002, it was mentioned in the will of Roger I, Count of Carcassonne, who bequeathed the fortress to his youngest child, Bernard. In effect, the family ruling over the region were installed here which allowed them to control access to the upper Ariège valley and to keep surveillance from this strategic point over the lower land, protected behind impregnable walls.
In 1034, the castle became capital of the County of Foix and played a decisive role in medieval military history. During the two following centuries, the castle was home to Counts with shining personalities who became the soul of the Occitan resistance during the crusade against the Albigensians.