Season 1

The series starts in the south and explores the history of Moorish Spain. In 711, Spain was invaded by Islamic troops from North Africa and the Middle East. For the next 700 years, most of Spain was ruled by Muslims and the country became a largely Islamic state. Under the Muslims, Spain became the most advanced, wealthy and populous country in Europe. The Muslim contribution to Spanish culture was immense. Philosophy, poetry, science, mathematics, art and architecture all made giant leaps forward. Andrew Graham-Dixon tells the story of Muslim political and cultural power as he travels from Cordoba to Seville and on to Granada. In these cities beautiful palaces, mosques and gardens were built, such as the Great Mosque in Cordoba, the Alcazar in Seville and the Alhambra in Granada.

Andrew Graham-Dixon journeys to the country's scorched centre to explore Spanish art of the 16th and 17th centuries, a period that became known as the Golden Age. Tracing the rise and fall of the Spanish Empire, the brutal conquest of the New World, and the religious madness of the Inquisition he discovers how a history so violent produced such beautiful art..

Andrew Graham-Dixon reveals how the north of the country has produced some of the most dazzling and iconic art of the modern age. Spain's turbulent history has shaped artists from Francisco Goya to Pablo Picasso. Graham-Dixon argues that Spanish architecture is the art form now taking the nation forward in the new millennium.