With riches from New World conquests pouring into Seville in the 16th to 18th centuries, the Spanish nobility of Andalucia built exquisite houses and palaces. This book chronicles the finest of these treasures, traces the development of a distinctive regional style of architecture and decoration- the beautiful tiles, dramatic staircases and doorways, columns, and arches, and the cool exterior patios that are so integral to Spanish building. Many of these homes are miraculously preserved with their authentic interiors intact, and a fascinating text tells the stories of the families that built and lived in them.