The oldest building in the AljaferÃa is the so-called "Torre del Trouvador", which received its name from Antonio GarcÃa Gutiérrez's romantic drama, El trovador, from 1836. This drama was converted into a libretto for Giuseppe Verdi's opera Il trovatore , 1853.
It is a defensive tower, with a quadrangular plan and five floors, dating from the end of the 9th century (according to Bernabé Cabañero Subiza, from the second half of the 10th century), 3 in the period governed by the first TuyibÃ, Muhammad Alanqar, who was appointed by Muhammad I, independent emir of Córdoba. The tower maintains vestiges of the start of the thick alabaster ashlar masonry walls in its lower part, and continued with others of simple plaster and lime concrete formwork, somewhat thinner as they gained height.
The exterior does not reflect the internal five-story division and appears as a huge solid prism just broken by loopholes. The entrance to the interior was carried out through a small door in height that could only be accessed by means of a portable ladder. Its initial function was, for all these indications, eminently military.