The Generalife was the Nasrid rulers' summer palace and country estate, east of the Alhambra, a private retreat and working farm. It was most likely begun by Muhammad II, who reigned from 1273 to 1302, or possibly by Muhammad III, who added the mirador chamber in the northern pavilion. An inscription records that Isma'il I remodeled and redecorated the palace in 1319. The Catholic Monarchs added an upper story to the northern pavilion in 1494.
The Patio de la Acequia measures 42 by 160 feet (12.8 by 48.7 m). Its garden is divided into four parts, with roots in the Persian chahar bagh, and a water channel runs along its long axis. Decoration includes carved stucco, muqarnas and cursive Arabic inscriptions.
Leopoldo Torres Balbás designed the northern New Gardens in 1931, and Francisco Prieto Moreno finished the southern part in 1951. A fire in 1958 damaged much of the northern sections. UNESCO listed the site in 1984.
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