A magnificent jewel of the civil Baroque architecture of Cordoba. It has been recently restored and converted into a museum and Visitor Centre for the town of Lucena.

It is a palace or manor house that belonged to illustrious local families. Two aspects stand out in particular: first, the façade, with its Baroque columns and entablatures, using veined marble from Cabra, which decorate the doors and windows on the two floors;

second, in the interior, which is laid out around two arcaded courtyards, a Baroque staircase in one of the courtyards is decorated with 18th-century tiles from Seville. It is covered by a Rococo dome, with decorative plasterwork work depicting architectural motifs and noble coats of arms. As a result of the restoration work that ended in March 2011 a Roman sculpture of the god Cupid was discovered, together with a number of neoclassical murals.

Its construction, promoted by Antonio Rafael de Mora and Saavedra, was started in 1730. One of the façades exudes its nobility, comprising two levels, one of ashlar stones and the other with masonry face. The first level has windows with sunken frames which and the second, balconies framed by pilasters and open pediments with ostentatious pyramidal finials. Under these balconies hang large plaques with mixed line profiles. All of these motifs enrich the façade’s beauty, although its main adornment is the splendid polychrome marble portal that occupies the centre. Its straight entrance, framed by a winding collar, is accompanied by some solemn Corinthian columns with tall geometrically decorated pedestals. These columns are undoubtedly inspired by the those featured on San Juan de Díos church’s portal. A projecting balcony rests atop these columns. It offers a complex design based on very separated espites and mixed line crowning with coat of arms, plus a series of exaggeratedly-sized pyramids. Passing the main door, we reach a vestibule that takes us to the first patio, which in turn leads to the palace’s main patio. It has a square floor plan and is surrounded by semi-circular arches with paired marble columns that alternate between red and blue.

Address

Address:

C/ San Pedro, 42,Lucena

GPS:

37.407607666966, -4.4885537195927

Telephone:
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