A pazo is a type of Galician traditional house. Similar to a

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

, pazos are usually located in the countryside, as former residences of important people in the community (formerly of kings and nobility). They were of crucial importance in the 17th to 19th centuries, related to rural and monastic architecture and the system of

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...

organization, and they constituted a type of local management unit around which the life of the villagers revolved. Over time they become the social symbol and refuge of the noble class, which Otero Pedrayo portrayed in his novels in early 20th century. The pazo, as a traditional civil architectural structure, had associated a social network: the servants of the nobleman and the tributaries of the domain, who themselves came to live on the grounds of the pazo (mostly the former). A pazo usually consists of a main building surrounded by gardens, a dovecote and often include outbuildings such as small

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

s for religious celebrations. An example being the ''pazo de Cadro'' in Marin, the seat of the House of Romay, which had a chapel dedicated to Santa Barbara. The word ''pazo'' is a

cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical effects on both the s ...

of stately ''

palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

'', and comes from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''palatiu(m)''. As a curiosity, the Portuguese word, close to the

Galician language Galician ( , ), also known as Galego (), is a Iberian Romance languages, Western Ibero-Romance language. Around 2.4 million people have at least some degree of competence in the language, mainly in Galicia (Spain), Galicia, an Autonomo ...

, to say ''palace'' is ''paço'' (instead of ''palácio''). In this regard, the

Paço Imperial The Paço Imperial (), or Imperial Palace, previously known as the Royal Palace of Rio de Janeiro and Palace of the Viceroys, is a historic building in the center of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Paço Imperial was built in the 18th ce ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, built in the 18th century, is an example of the Portuguese counterpart of this type of building.

Gallery

File:PazoDaTrave.jpg,

Pazo da Trave A pazo is a type of Galician traditional house. Similar to a manor house, pazos are usually located in the countryside, as former residences of important people in the community (formerly of kings and nobility). They were of crucial importance in ...

Viveiro Viveiro (; ) is a town and municipality in the province of Lugo, in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. It belongs to the comarca of A Mariña Occidental. It borders on the Cantabrian Sea, to the west of Xove and to the east of O V ...

File:Pazo Baión.jpg,

Pazo Baión A pazo is a type of Galicia (Spain), Galician traditional house. Similar to a manor house, pazos are usually located in the countryside, as former residences of important people in the community (formerly of kings and nobility). They were of cruci ...

Vilanova de Arousa Vilanova de Arousa (; unofficial ) is a municipality in the province of Pontevedra, in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. It belongs to the comarca of O Salnés O Salnés is a ''Comarcas of Galicia, comarca'' in the Galicia (Spain), Gal ...

File:Pazo de Pousadouro.JPG,

Pazo de Pousadouro A pazo is a type of Galician traditional house. Similar to a manor house, pazos are usually located in the countryside, as former residences of important people in the community (formerly of kings and nobility). They were of crucial importance in ...

Redondela Redondela is a municipality in the province of Pontevedra (province), Pontevedra, in the autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. It belongs to the Comarcas of Galicia, comarca of Vigo (comarca), Vigo. The most famous icons of the ...

File:Pazo Pondal.jpg, Pazo Pondal,

Ponteceso Ponteceso is a municipality in the province of A Coruña, in the autonomous community of Galicia, northwestern Spain. It belongs to the comarca of Bergantiños. Etymology The name of the place comes from Latin ''PONTE CAESA'', translating to ...

File:Cambados 060905 Pazo de Fefiñáns.jpg,

Pazo de Fefiñáns A pazo is a type of Galician traditional house. Similar to a manor house, pazos are usually located in the countryside, as former residences of important people in the community (formerly of kings and nobility). They were of crucial importance in ...

Cambados Cambados is a municipality in Galicia, Spain in the province of Pontevedra. It is known for its historical monuments, its seafood and the famous white wine, Albariño. The town is a Site of Cultural Interest, declared in 2001, and was named E ...

File:Pazo de Oca.JPG,

Pazo de Oca A pazo is a type of Galician traditional house. Similar to a manor house, pazos are usually located in the countryside, as former residences of important people in the community (formerly of kings and nobility). They were of crucial importance in ...

A Estrada A Estrada is a municipality in the province of Pontevedra, in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. It belongs to the comarca of Tabeirós – Terra de Montes. It is located some southeast of Santiago de Compostela. Etymology The name co ...

File:Pazo Bermúdez de Castro.jpg,

Pazo Bermúdez de Castro A pazo is a type of Galician traditional house. Similar to a manor house, pazos are usually located in the countryside, as former residences of important people in the community (formerly of kings and nobility). They were of crucial importance in ...

Cotobade Cotobade (Spanish Cotobad) is a former local country council in Galicia (Spain) in the province of Pontevedra. It bordered the municipalities of Campo Lameiro, Cerdedo, Forcarei, A Lama, Ponte Caldelas and Pontevedra Pontevedra (, ) is ...

File:Pazo de Leis, O Barro, A Baña.jpg,

Pazo de Leis A pazo is a type of Galician traditional house. Similar to a manor house, pazos are usually located in the countryside, as former residences of important people in the community (formerly of kings and nobility). They were of crucial importance in ...

A Baña A Baña is a municipality in the province of A Coruña in the autonomous community of Galicia in northwestern Spain. It belongs to the comarca of A Barcala. It is 52 kilometers from the provincial capital of A Coruña. It has an area of 98.63&nbs ...

File:Casa grande de lentille.JPG, Casa grande de Lentille en

Cenlle Cenlle is a municipality in the province of Ourense, in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. It belongs to the comarca A ''comarca'' (, , , ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain, and some o ...

File:Pazo de Mos-01-1.jpg, Pazo de Mos, Mos File:Pontevedra, Galiza. Pazo de Lourizán.jpg, Pazo de Lourizán,

Pontevedra Pontevedra (, ) is a city in the autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. It is the capital of both the ''Pontevedra (comarca), Comarca'' and Province of Pontevedra, and the capital of the Rías Baixas. It is als ...

File:Pazo do Piñeiro.jpg, Pazo do Piñeiro, en Pesqueiras, Chantada. File:San_Miguel_das_Penas_Pazo_e_Torre.JPG, Tower and pazo de San Miguel das Penas, Monterroso

Gallery

See also