The Arms Courtyard Fountain of the Málaga Alcazaba

One of the most charming spots of the Málaga Alcazaba

This is one of the most intriguing preserved features. Located in a flat area with a near-complete view of the city, it was here that artillery was installed after the conquest, which led to it being named the Plaza de Armas. Adjacent to it, you can find the Tower of the Candle and the Coracha Gate. The Coracha is a walled passage that connects it with Gibralfaro Castle. A bell was installed in the Tower of the Candle following the city's conquest. Archaeological works carried out by Dr. Acién have located traces of an early main mosque from the Emiral period, 8th century, at this site.

The water games, flowing through the channels, culminate in this Courtyard. It features a sunk-in central area akin to a cruise garden, with four flowerbeds whose trimmed hedges enhance the view of the fountain. The channels widen to meet their end here, echoing the four-lobed shape of the fountain basin. The fountain itself consists of a tall bowl resembling a four-petaled flower set in a square, from which emerges an elegant baluster supporting a lobed and egg-and-dart decorated bowl with four thin spouts and a central jet. All of it is made from rosaceous stone.

This fountain was installed by the French in 1812 in the House of the Filipenses, now the Gaona College, when they converted it into the Prefecture headquarters and a Botanic Garden. It was placed at the centre of a gazebo. As the site's educational use grew, its garden gradually disappeared, resulting in the fountain being dismantled in the mid-40s. Juan Temboury requested it from the San Felipe Neri Fund to install it in the Alcazaba in its current location. There are also two courtyards in the Málaga Alcazaba containing pools and circular fountains with small jet sprays, in the purest Hispano-Arab style, located in the Palacio Nazarí area, in the Pool and Orange Tree Courtyards.

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