This Alcazar or Moorish fortress is situated to the west of the walled town on the highest point of Carmona. Peter I had it restored in the 13th century, and it became one of his favourite palaces. The Catholic Monarchs erected the circular tower and embellished the royal quarters.
It was seriously affected by the 1755 earthquake and, since then, it has been progressively falling into ruin.
The ruins of this Alcazar surround what is now Carmona’s Parador de Turismo, a state-run hotel.
References:The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.