Palace of Cienfuegos de Peñalba, Pola de Allande, Spain

The Palace of Cienfuegos de Peñalba arises on a hill near Pola de Allande. It was originally built in the 15th century on the site of an ancient fort, but has been refurbished so that the only remaining Gothic elements are on the lowest level.

The original owners were in the Ponce lineage, but it passed to the Counts de Luna and in 1515 to the Cienfuegos family lines. Around 1520 Rodrigo González de Cienfuegos, lord of Allande, undertook renovations to rebuild the property. In the eighteenth century, the property became the residence of the Count of Peñalba who renovated it to suit his tastes.

The Palace has L-shaped plan and is marked by three solid towers, which are not crenellated, adding to the monumental elements of the building and leading to its appearance of strong defenses. Of the three towers, the two oldest are the square ones and the most recent is rectangular. The last one was added as a housing area in the nineteenth century. It contains 23 bedrooms, as well as a hall, kitchen, living room, lounge, and oratory. The rectangular courtyard has little decoration or ornamentation. Without porticoes the first floor has a wooden gallery supported by thick, rough masonry columns. There are also multiple stables.

In 2008 a rehabilitation project was completed which recovered some of the shapes and colors from the 1888 gallery which was added to the main tower at that time.

References:

Wikipedia

Palaces, manors and town halls in Spain

User Reviews

A.A Tapia&Quiros (7 months ago)
Thanks to the owner who showed us the patio, very kind

Lewis Engel (8 months ago)
The Palace of the Cienfuegos, or of the Lords of Allande, or of the Counts of Marcel de Peñalba, is an abandoned noble palace, located in the Asturian council of Allande, Spain. It has been declared an Asset of Cultural Interest since 1994. On the basis of a primitive building from the 14th century, it was rebuilt around 1520 by Rodrigo González de Cienfuegos, lord of Allande, later undergoing various renovations so that only the lower part remains from the Gothic period . It was very reformed in the 18th century by Baltasar González de Cienfuegos, its owner, 5th Count of Marcel de Peñalba. Of marked defensive character, the palace has an L-shaped plan and is reinforced by three solid towers, which give it great monumentality. These towers, covered with four slopes, must have been crenellated in origin and toppled at the beginning of the Modern Age. The two oldest are square. The one at the end, with a rectangular floor plan, shows that it was enlarged in modern times to house the noble rooms. And in the 19th century a popular style gallery was added, a traditional element in Asturian houses. The sobriety of the lines of the complex and almost total de-ornamentation are barely attenuated in the rear patio, which preserves various decorative elements of a Renaissance character. This rectangular courtyard is surrounded at the height of the first floor by a continuous wooden gallery, which rests on thick and rough masonry columns. In recent years, partial arrangements have been made to prevent its collapse, having completed in 2008 the rehabilitation and recovery of the original shapes and colors of the gallery attached to the main tower, which dates from around 1888.

Roberto Hernández (8 months ago)
It is supposed to be a place to visit (even if it is from the outside), but it is very neglected and the access in very bad condition.

Pisadiel (15 months ago)
The Cienfuegos de Peñalba Palace is a castle (ss. XIII-XIV) originally linked to the royal lineage Ponce de León, then (1369) to the Quiñones, counts of Luna since 1462. Located on La Pola d'Allande, rebuilt in 1520 by Rodrigo González de la Rúa and Cienfuegos, lord of Allande and accountant of the king. The oldest or Gothic part corresponds to the lower part and the dungeons in the subsoil. Reformed in the s. XVIII by Don Baltasar González de Cienfuegos Caso and Maldonado (1718-70), V count of Marcel de Peñalba - concession of King Felipe IV of Spain (1621-65) in 1649 in favor of the Asturian García de Valdés Doriga and Tineo Osorio (1600 -52), captain general of the Yucatan, in New Spain. L-shaped plant, with a marked defensive character, reinforced by three solid towers with four waters - crenellated at origin and then topped off, 17 m. high and 2 m. thick-, 2 square and one rectangular -main or honenaje- renovated as a home, with a traditional gallery running added in 1888. With oratory, room, anteroom, lounge, two corridors, 23 bedrooms, kitchen, four fireplaces, stables, five stables, dungeons and dungeons, secret passages and a surrounding wall. The frontal sobriety of the set contrasts with the Renaissance entrance of the rear rectangular courtyard. Partially and progressively rehabilitated in 2006, 2008, 2011, 2015, but still in process.

Quique Castigo (2 years ago)
It was an experience but they have to tell you

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Inna_Zyu

Historic Site of the week

Kalozha Church

The Kalozha church of Saints Boris and Gleb is the oldest extant structure in Hrodna. It is the only surviving monument of ancient Black Ruthenian architecture, distinguished from other Orthodox churches by prolific use of polychrome faceted stones of blue, green or red tint which could be arranged to form crosses or other figures on the wall.

The church is a cross-domed building supported by six circular pillars. The outside is articulated with projecting pilasters, which have rounded corners, as does the building itself. The ante-nave contains the choir loft, accessed by a narrow gradatory in the western wall. Two other stairs were discovered in the walls of the side apses; their purpose is not clear. The floor is lined with ceramic tiles forming decorative patterns. The interior was lined with innumerable built-in pitchers, which usually serve in Eastern Orthodox churches as resonators but in this case were scored to produce decorative effects. For this reason, the central nave has never been painted.

The church was built before 1183 and survived intact, depicted in the 1840s by Michał Kulesza, until 1853, when the south wall collapsed, due to its perilous location on the high bank of the Neman. During restoration works, some fragments of 12th-century frescoes were discovered in the apses. Remains of four other churches in the same style, decorated with pitchers and coloured stones instead of frescoes, were discovered in Hrodna and Vaŭkavysk. They all date back to the turn of the 13th century, as do remains of the first stone palace in the Old Hrodna Castle.

In 2004, the church was included in the Tentative List of UNESCO"s World Heritage Sites.

Do you know an ancient castle or magnificent church near you?

Why not share it with other people interested in history? You can add your own historic sites and attractions to SpottingHistory.com.

It's absolutely free, easy, and doesn't even need registration!

Upload data

Palace of Cienfuegos de Peñalba

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

History of Guernsey & Jersey

Most beautiful castles in Lithuania

Cultural Landscape of Sintra, Portugal

Historic Site of the week

Kalozha Church

Looks like you are a history fan!