The Archbishop's Palace of Alcalá de Henares is one of the most historically significant buildings in Spain — a medieval and Renaissance complex where Columbus met Ferdinand and Isabella to plan his second voyage to the Americas, and where Catherine of Aragon was born in 1485. For centuries it was the official residence of the Archbishops of Toledo, making Alcalá one of the most important ecclesiastical centres in the Iberian peninsula.
The palace suffered severe damage during the Spanish Civil War and has been substantially restored. Today it houses various municipal offices and some rooms are accessible to visitors. The facade and the courtyard are the architectural highlights. The building sits on the Plaza del Palacio, a short walk from the cathedral and the Archbishop's Garden, which can also be visited.
story: "Catherine of Aragon, born in this palace on December 16, 1485, would become the first wife of Henry VIII of England. Her refusal to accept annulment of their marriage — on the grounds that she was the rightful queen and the marriage valid in the eyes of the Church — was the trigger for Henry's break with Rome and the English Reformation. The entire trajectory of English religious history traced back, in part, to a room in this palace in Alcalá."