Casa de Porras, Palace house in Albaicín, Granada, Spain

Casa de Porras is a 16th-century palace house on the southern slope of the Albaicín, at Placeta de Porras 2. Its stone Plateresque doorway, with Tuscan pilasters, a narrow frieze and heraldic shield, opens onto a square courtyard porticoed with grey marble columns from Sierra Elvira, with a central well and a 1610 marble pillar.

Built shortly after the Christian conquest of Granada in 1492, the house belonged to María de Porras, who inherited it from her brother Miguel; in the 17th century she and his wife renovated it, adding the pillar and a third storey. In 1944 it passed to the Spanish State, and a later renovation installed a lift up to the upper gallery. Since 2008 it has opened as the Casa del Estudiante.

The name is attributed to the Porras surname of early owners, though the link to Alonso de Porras (1497) and Pedro de Porras y Morales (1683) is not proven; the heraldic shields on the facade and the 1610 marble pillar do not match that surname. Since 2008 the house has operated as the Casa del Estudiante, run by the University of Granada's vice-rectorate, hosting workshops, exhibitions, talks and concerts open to students and the wider public.

The house stands at Placeta de Porras 2, where Cuesta de San Gregorio, Cuesta del Granadillo and Placeta de Santa Inés Alta meet; its left side faces Calle Beso. The Albaicín slopes are steep, so reach it on foot. A lift installed in the last renovation rises to the upper gallery, which looks out over the Alhambra.

The 1610 marble pillar against the west wall of the patio gallery and the coats of arms on the facade and pillar do not match the Porras surname, so the family link in the house's name is unproven. The rear medieval orchard was later remade as a terraced garden with fountains and pools.