The Catholic Monarchs approved the establishment of the Casa de Contratación de Indias in 1503, which was tasked with promoting and regulating trade and navigation with the Spanish overseas territories, as well as carrying out tasks such as sending and receiving goods, technical and scientific activities, and judicial activities.

The Casa de Contratación extended from the current Plaza de la Contratación, where it had its main façade, to the Montera courtyard, including the buildings to the west of the square. This institution relocated to Cádiz in 1717 and vanished in 1793.

The Admiral's room is accessed from the Montera courtyard, where the following paintings stand out: The Inauguration of the Ibero-American Exhibition of 1929, which presides over the room, a work by the painter Alfonso Grosso; The Last Days of Saint Ferdinand, by Virgilio Mattoni; The Taking of Loja by Ferdinand the Catholic, a work by Eusebio Valldeperas; and the portraits of Ferdinand VII and Maria This space is used for public events.

The Audience Hall, which was converted into a chapel in the 16th century, is next. It has a lavish 16th-century tracery ceiling with geometric decorations. The chapel has a stone staircase attached to the wall that runs around the perimeter, and a triptych-shaped altarpiece by Alejo Fernández,70 made between 1531 and 1536, presides over the room. The image of the Virgin of the Navigators dominates the centre, flanked by Saint Sebastian and Saint James on one side and Saint Telmo and Saint John the Evangelist on the other.