El Palacio de los Condes de Cervellón: Filming Location for Amenábar’s “El Cautivo”

After reading that Alejandro Amenábar’s latest film was being shot at the Palacio de los Condes de Cervellón, we said to each other … “Why does that sound so familiar?” And then we remembered that we had actually visited the palace, way back in 2020, as one of our first “emerging from Covid” excursions. We had published a post about the incredible waterfall hike that we had done on the same trip, but had never published our pictures from the palace! Allow us to correct this mistake — especially before one of Spain’s most celebrated directors features it in “El Cautivo”.

Everyone knows about the stunning world heritage of Alhambra in Granada, but not too many know that there is a miniature version of it in Anna, less than an hour from Valencia. The palace isn’t anywhere near as grand, of course, but it features the same type of fascinating Moorish architecture. And it has none of the Alhambra’s crowds, nor its hefty entrance fees.

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This palace in Anna was built in the 17th century. From further away, you might assume that it’s yet another baroque-style structure like so many others built around that same time in Spain. But when you take a closer look, you’ll notice that the wooden entrance door is covered in Moorish geometrical patterns. And that’s when you realize that this is not your average Spanish palace.

Once you enter the building, the Moorish influence is inescapable — that’s especially the case in what’s known as the palace’s “Arab Room”. Here, you might think you’ve been teleported to a different country, and a totally different century. It would more at place in Morocco… or if it was going to be in Spain, then perhaps the 10th century rather than the 17th, when much of the peninsula was firmly in Moorish hands.

Alejandro Amenábar is one of Spain’s best directors, with international hits like The Others, Vanilla Sky, and The Sea Inside under his belt. We can’t wait to watch El Cautivo, to see if we can recognize the palace. If you’d like to see it for yourself, please be advised that you can only visit via a guided tour. Make sure to make your reservation through Anna’s tourism office before you arrive, as same day reservation requests are not granted.

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