Noble floor rooms

It is very difficult to get a concrete idea of what the great palace halls might have looked like. We have seen that the documentation provides us with information on the painters who decorated the walls and ceilings. Many other craftsmen were involved, such as carpenters, cabinetmakers and plasterers, French and Hispanics of different origins, both Muslim and Christian, who made furniture and armour to embellish the spaces, etc. There are many references to Lope Barbicano, a Moorish carpenter from Tudela, who made beautiful, we presume very beautiful loop roofs for the rooms of the highest category. Part of work was carried out in his workshop in La Ribera. The pieces carved there were finally assembled in Olite.

As a precious relic, a series of plaster panels remain on the northern wall of the Great Tower, at the height of the main floor. Old photographs show us how close we came to these fragile accessories disappearing, since before the restoration work of the 20th century they were only protected by a canopy. The motifs that adorn them follow patterns from the Islamic (ribbons) and Christian (more realistic plant motifs) traditions. It is worth noting how certain designs that were very common in the Andalusian tradition were personalised for the king by the introduction of personal or family emblems, such as chestnut leaves and fruits.

Floor and wall tiles have survived to the present day in a more fragmentary form, some of which were made by Valencian masters commissioned by the sovereign. Traces of mural paintings have recently been identified, but their scarcity does not allow us to get an idea of what the great halls decorated with angels, hounds, historical or legendary characters, etc., might have looked like. The floors were covered with mats and the windows were usually closed with waxed cloth, although there are also reports of stained-glass windows made by foreign craftsmen for the most luxurious rooms.