The building that houses the Living Library of al-Andalus formerly belonged to a stately home situated in the heart of the city of Cordoba, with important ancient Roman and medieval remains close by. After the conquest of Qurtuba by the Castilians in 1236, the building where it stands became the property of the Fernandez de Cordoba family, lords of Aguilar. In the first half of the 16th century, Pedro Nunez de Herrera lived there, whose office of bailiff (bailio in Spanish) gave the house its name, which survives to this today.

The monument and its various sections are living witnesses of history, and one of its most recent merits is the interesting restoration carried out only a few years ago, under the patronage of the Fondation Ousseimi. The palace is late-Gothic gateway, worthy of special mention as its forms the logo of the Living Library of al-Andalus, is attributed to Hernan Ruiz II and the Plateresque decoration of the tympanum is especially striking.

Among the activities soon to be on offer in the Living Library of al-Andalus are organized Guided Tours of the Bailio Palace centre, for which a guidebook is being written to include the history, present situation and monumental and bibliographic contents of the building.