The Castle of Manzanares El Real is situated next to the town by the same name some 50 kilometres north of the Spanish capital, within the autonomous community of Madrid. The Medieval fortress was constructed by one of the most powerful families in Castilla in the 15th Century, the Mendozas. The founder was Inigo Lopez de Mendoza, the first Marquis of Santillana, who began building the castle in 1475. It is a proud example of Spanish military architecture from the Middle Ages with its quadrangular form with four towers in the corners. The towers themselves are decorated with a number of smaller cylindrical towers. The largest one is known as the Homage Tower and is crowned with a smaller octagonal tower. Between the four fortified walls, there is the inner courtyard called Patio de Armas, surrounded by corridors with arcades. The style in which the castle is built is referred to as Gothic-Mudejar with Renaissance and Moorish influence.