Granada has opened Espacio Amazigh, a permanent cultural space near the Alhambra dedicated to the history, art and ethnological heritage of Amazigh civilization.
A new space has opened at Carmen de los Porcel, formerly known as Carmen de los Catalanes, in the surroundings of the Alhambra complex. The report describes it as the first cultural center and exhibition space in Europe fully dedicated to researching, sharing and valuing Amazigh historical, artistic and ethnological heritage.
The project was backed by the Alhambra Council and the Dr. Leila Mezian Foundation. The opening brought together Spanish and Moroccan figures, including Andalusian culture official Patricia del Pozo, Granada mayor Marifrán Carazo, Morocco’s ambassador to Spain Karima Benyaich and Moroccan royal adviser André Azoulay.
The permanent exhibition includes 189 objects, ranging from jewelry, ceramics and textiles to everyday tools, visual resources and interactive material. These items are organized across seven sections on two floors. Together, they trace the origins of the Amazigh people, questions of identity, the development of the Tifinagh alphabet and the Amazigh role in the making of al-Andalus as a shared political and cultural space between Morocco and the Iberian Peninsula.
That framing is important because Granada’s history is often narrated through the Nasrid period and the global symbolism of the Alhambra. Espacio Amazigh widens that memory. It places North African Amazigh history inside the city’s institutional landscape and connects medieval Granada to living Amazigh cultures across Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and the wider diaspora.
The collection has been made possible in large part through the Dr. Leila Mezian Foundation. Mezian, the Moroccan patron and philanthropist who died in 2024, had long supported projects that brought Amazigh heritage into public cultural institutions. The opening was attended by members of her family, including Othman Benjelloun and Dounia Benjelloun. The space also includes a donation from the private Amazigh jewelry collection of Spanish diplomat and former ambassador Jorge Dezcallar and his wife Teresa.
Espacio Amazigh is not intended to function only as a static exhibition. The center also aims to become a cultural meeting point through scientific and educational programming, including conferences and learning activities in cooperation with the Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies.
The site itself adds another layer to the story. Carmen de los Porcel covers around 20,000 square meters and includes structures whose earliest phases go back to the Nasrid period. According to Amadal Amazigh, the building underwent a full rehabilitation completed in September 2025, financed by the Alhambra Council at a cost of 1.266 million euros.
The opening also comes alongside new archaeological findings in the area. Recent excavation work around the site documented 30 funerary structures following Islamic rites in the Muslim cemetery of the Mauror hill, as well as 12 additional brick-built and plaster-covered pits that remain under analysis. The findings point to the layered uses of the area over time, including cemeteries, silos and prisons.
For Amazigh communities, the opening is more than a cultural milestone. It is a recognition that Amazigh history belongs not only to North Africa, but also to Europe’s understanding of al-Andalus, Granada and the Mediterranean past. In a city visited by millions each year, Espacio Amazigh gives that history a permanent address.