The construction of the Niebla Castle started in 1402, when Don Enrique de Guzmán, the second Duke of Medinasidonia and the fourth of Niebla, pulled down the old Moorish Alcázar to build the one we know today. The result was a magnificent royal palace which preserved the most interesting and luxurious parts built by the Arabs, such as the Muslim Tower of Homage.
After the works of restoration made in the last few years, the Alcázar is now in good conditions. It has a rectangular structure divided by an inner wall which separates the patio of arms from the luxurious rooms intended as palace. This main structure has ten towers; six of them are square (four are on the corners -including the Tower of Homage - and two of them are at the ends of the inner wall). The other four are semicircular cubes alternated with the square ones. The walls go on from the Tower of Homage and the one located on the north-west angle to form a barbican surrounding the central building on the east, south and west sides. This barbican has six towers and joins the almohade wall near the Puerta de Sevilla and del Socorro. An adarve and a barbican built in the late 15th century completed the building.
References:The Château du Lude is one of the many great châteaux of the Loire Valley in France. Le Lude is the most northerly château of the Loire Valley and one of the last important historic castles in France, still inhabited by the same family for the last 260 years. The château is testimony to four centuries of French architecture, as a stronghold transformed into an elegant house during the Renaissance and the 18th century. The monument is located in the valley of Le Loir. Its gardens have evolved throughout the centuries.