Jardines de Orive
Over the past few years, the Orive gardens, situated between Calle Pedro López and Plaza de Orive, have become one of the most popular urban parks in Cordoba. The park is made up of different gardens belonging to the Palacio de los Villalones, also known as Palacio de Orive, together with the former gardens of the Convent of San Pablo, and was opened to the public in 2004. It is the first large park to be opened inside the city’s closely-packed historic quarter in centuries.
In the gardens stands the former chapter house of the convent of San Pablo, built in the 16th century by Hernán Ruiz II, but left unfinished. At the beginning of the 21st century, it was restored and converted into an exhibition hall.
Excavations carried out in the gardens have unearthed remains of the Roman circus maximus and a group of Arab houses from the Almohad period with fascinating remains of geometric wall decorations.
