Soto Fermoso Palace, Abadía, Spain

The Soto Fermoso Palace was originally built as a Templar fortress, later becoming, around the 12th or 13th century, the Cistercian abbey that gave its name to the village, and finally, the palace of the House of Alba. It belonged to the Ducal House of Alba from the mid-15th century until the early 20th century.

The building, with a square plan, is situated in a place of great beauty. The courtyard is Mudejar, with two floors, and consists of a double gallery of five arches on each side. The lower arches are pointed horseshoe and Mudejar from the 16th century, while the upper ones are escarzano style from the same century, featuring the heraldic shields of the House of Alba in the corners. The rooms are distributed around this courtyard.

The palace's garden was Renaissance and was created by order of Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alba. It blended architectural and sculptural constructions, paintings, stuccos with various plant species, and water features. Currently, it is very deteriorated, and only some parts of the garden, such as the statue of Andromeda, are preserved.

The palace was formerly a cultural and artistic center of great importance, serving as a literary academy for Italians and Flemish, with artists like Garcilaso de la Vega and Lope de Vega passing through.

Palaces, manors and town halls in Spain

User Reviews

Peser (9 months ago)
Excellent palace, which we visited on Monday at 10:00, it can only be visited on Monday and from 10:00 to 11:15, enough time but you must be able to come on Monday opening day. Spectacular patio with Mozarabic arches of rich workmanship and perfect harmony, original floor with geometric formations. The garden part is missing from what it was believed to be in its day. We were treated kindly and told some interesting stories, for which we are grateful.

José Luis SantRubi (16 months ago)
Visiting hours are very restrictive: from 10:00 a.m. to 11:15 a.m., on Mondays that are not holidays. This allows us to assume that the visits are NOT to the liking of those responsible for the building. The visit was not possible. The residents of Abadía made comments to us in that sense.

Sarita V (2 years ago)
The place must have been spectacular. The cloister with its Romanesque shafts, the Mudejar-style arcades, the original floor... It had to be amazing, not to mention the Renaissance gardens, which due to the land they occupy and the few details that still remain, speak of the grandeur they had in his moment. What a pity! How can you afford to have your heritage like this, in such a state of neglect and abandonment. Whoever likes it I recommend that you go now, because I don't think it will have much left to finish collapsing. Visits only on non-holiday Mondays from 10 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. without guides or information panels or explanation or itinerary. To adventure. For me it has been a bittersweet discovery due to the rage that gives the feeling of looting and abandonment of such a special space with so much history.

Esperanza Garcia (2 years ago)
A pity. The guide informed us that it was mandatory to open one hour a week and that was limited. No guide, no explanation, nothing. They are only allowed to see the outdoor areas maintained thanks to the sheep that eat the undergrowth, which otherwise would no longer exist. Heritage should be more concerned and force the current owners to really be visitable

Rosa Menendez (2 years ago)
I enjoy visiting the monuments in this area, but in this case I was disappointed. The state of conservation is terrible. You can only visit on non-holiday Mondays from 10:00 to 11:15 without any type of guide.

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