The central _patio_ is markedly Moorish in character, and is encircled with arcades of extraordinary symmetry and beauty. Pedro de Madrazo calls attention to the harmonious variety and irregularity of the arches and windows, comparing the effect thus produced to the admired disorder of the forest and plantation. The decoration of the walls and arches bears a general resemblance to that of the Alcazar, but on closer examination the influence of the plateresco, Late Gothic, and Renaissance styles is revealed. The fountain in the middle of the _patio_ is adorned with dolphins and four huge statues belonging to the best period of Roman art. The chapel is in the mixed pointed and Moorish styles. In the vestibule the _ajaraca_, or trellis-work, the _azulejos_, and the _ajimeces_, or twin-windows (now converted into ordinary windows) recall Moorish art; while the ceiling is in the plateresco style. The arch of the chapel is Gothic, and its walls are laid with _azulejos_ and stucco. In the middle of the floor stands a short marble column, a copy of the pillar at which Christ is supposed to have been scourged, preserved at Rome; it was the gift of Pius V. The room called the Prætorium has a fine coffered ceiling and good tiling. The staircase is magnificent. Its walls are faced with _azulejos_, and its ceiling is in the cupola or half-orange style of the Salón de los Embajadores. Another room on the upper floor is adorned with paintings by Pacheco, the subject being Dædalus and Icarus. The view from the roof is perhaps the finest in the city. The Casa de Pilatos, as might be inferred from the character of its founder, is a veritable cabinet of antiques and precious objects, marbles and fragments from Italica figuring largely in the collection. A notable private residence, dating probably in its foundations from the beginning of the fifteenth century, is the Casa de Abades, sometimes called the Casa de los Pinelos. It passed into the hands of the Genoese family from which it derives its second name, and thence to the Cathedral Chapter (composed of _abbés_ or _abades_). In the sixteenth century it became the property of the Ribera family, the owners of the Casa de Pilatos. It is described by Madrazo as presenting a fine example of the Sevillian Renaissance style, which would appear to be compounded of all pre-existing styles. Mr Digby Wyatt, on the other hand, thinks the house more Italian than Spanish. But the beautiful _patio_, the dados of _azulejos_, and the _ajimeces_ looking on the courtyard are distinctly Andalusian features. There are also traces of Moorish geometrical ornamentation, covered with repeated coats of whitewash.