Pazo Of The Counts Of Maceda
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The Palace of the Counts of Maceda, or Casa del Barón in
Pontevedra, Spain Pontevedra (, ) is a Spanish city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the ''Pontevedra (comarca), Comarca'' (County) and Province of Pontevedra, and of the Rías Baixas in Galicia, Spain, Galicia. It is also th ...
, is an original
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
pazo 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 ...
dating from the 16th century. It is currently a four-star hotel belonging to the
Paradores Paradores de Turismo de España , branded as Paradores, is a Spanish state-owned chain of luxury hotels that are usually located in historic buildings or in nature areas with a special appeal. Its very first parador was inaugurated on 9 Octob ...
network.


Location

It is located in Barón street, in the heart of the
old town of Pontevedra The historic centre of Pontevedra (Spain) is the oldest part of the city. It is the second most important old town in Galicia after Santiago de Compostela, and was declared a historic-artistic complex on 23 February 1951. The historic centre ...
, close to the medieval Burgo Bridge.


History

The building has its origin in a
Roman villa A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house built in the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions. Typology and distribution Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD) distinguished two kinds of villas n ...
. In the 16th century, the building was transformed into a
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
pazo 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 ...
. In the 18th century, it became the property of the illustrious Counts of Maceda. Later, the property was passed on to the Marquis of Figueroa and Atalaya (also a count of Maceda) who filled it with antiques. In the 19th century, the palace went into decline, and its uninhabited rooms were used as a sea salt
warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities ...
and a school for poor children. It is even said that the building became a
Masonic lodge A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...
. Later, it was transformed into a place where dozens of families lived. The Baron of Casa Goda, Eduardo de Vera y Navarro, put an end to this decadence, recovering its possessions and restoring much of its former splendour. This is why the Parador de Turismo de Pontevedra is called Casa del Barón. In the 20th century, the first floor of the palace became the headquarters of the Graduada Álvarez Limeses School and the second floor was used as a house, being the family residence of the directors of this school until 1950, when the Pontevedra City Council became the owner. The building was refurbished as a luxury hotel managed by the Spanish State, becoming on 15 January 1955 the first National Parador of Turism in Galicia. In 1974 the hotel underwent its first extension and in 2002 a major upgrade worth 2.34 million euros was carried out.


Description

The
pazo 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 ...
stands out for its imposing dimensions and stately ornamentation. On the outside, there is a neoclassical portico at the entrance to the building. The façade of the building, covered with a
frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...
of
oval An oval () is a closed curve in a plane which resembles the outline of an egg. The term is not very specific, but in some areas (projective geometry, technical drawing, etc.) it is given a more precise definition, which may include either one ...
shapes, is decorated with coats of arms and is topped by a
colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or cur ...
of four
granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
columns. The palace has a crenellated tower added in the 18th century and a stone
terrace Terrace may refer to: Landforms and construction * Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river * Terrace, a street suffix * Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk an ...
. It also has a
courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary ...
(originally designed for horses) and a garden. Inside, there is large stone staircase, a Galician stone
fireplace A fireplace or hearth is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending on the design ...
, and other baroque features. There are numerous
drawing room A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained, and an alternative name for a living room. The name is derived from the 16th-century terms withdrawing room and withdrawing chamber, which remained in use through the 17th cent ...
s. The building is decorated with antiques,
tapestries Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...
, antique paintings, and classical and royal furniture.


Hotel

The palace is now the Parador de Pontevedra, a 47-room luxury hotel. It is one of the four most popular paradors in Galicia. In 2019, its average annual occupancy rate was 72.75%, only behind the parador of Santiago de Compostela, the Hospital of the Catholic Monarchs. King Felipe VI, the reigning king of Spain, used to spend the night here during his stay at the Spanish Naval Academy.


Gallery

File:Pontevedra - Parador Nacional Casa del Barón (Palacio de los Condes de Maceda) 06.JPG, Façade File:Parador de Pontevedra 1.jpg, Main facade from the stone terrace of the building File:Parador de Pontevedra 3.jpg, Partial view of the gardens File:Pontevedra - Parador Nacional Casa del Barón (Palacio de los Condes de Maceda) 16.JPG, Gardens File:Pontevedra capital Parador Torre Almenada del Palacio Renacentista Casa del Barón.jpg, 18th century crenellated tower File:Pontevedra - Parador Nacional Casa del Barón (Palacio de los Condes de Maceda) 05.JPG, Courtyard and small car park File:Pontevedra capital Parador casa del Barón de casa Goda.jpg, View of the entrance gate File:Pontevedra - Parador Nacional Casa del Barón (Palacio de los Condes de Maceda) 17.JPG, Interior File:, Coat of arms of the Palace File:Pontevedra capital Lateral del Pazo de los Condes de Maceda (Parador de Turismo).jpg, Side of the Pazo Casa del Barón File:Pontevedra-Parador Casa del barón (6225285983).jpg, Parador plate File:Pontevedra - Parador Nacional Casa del Barón (Palacio de los Condes de Maceda) 08.JPG, Portico from the inside File:Pontevedra - Parador Nacional Casa del Barón (Palacio de los Condes de Maceda) 12.JPG, Parador gardens File:Pontevedra - Parador Nacional Casa del Barón (Palacio de los Condes de Maceda) 11.JPG, Pond File:Parador Nacional de Turismo de Pontevedra. Escalera (14056986499).jpg, Internal staircase File:Parador de Pontevedra 2.jpg, Gardens


References


Bibliography

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External links


Casa del Barón

Spain Paradors – Casa del Barón
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pazo Counts Maceda Paradores Baroque architecture in Spain Renaissance architecture in Spain Renaissance architecture Pontevedra Buildings and structures in Pontevedra Baroque architecture in Galicia (Spain) Renaissance architecture in Galicia (Spain) Buildings and structures in the Province of Pontevedra Palaces in Galicia (Spain) Tourist attractions in Galicia (Spain)