Palace of the Marqueses de la Peña
A late 16th century palace which combines the Mudêjar and Renaissance styles. It is now a Carmelite convent.
Historically speaking, this is one of the most important civil buildings in Antequera. It was inhabited for centuries by the Rojas family, whose most distant ancestor in the town was Martîn de Rojas Manrique, who participated in the reconquest alongside Prince Fernando.
The title of Marquis of La Peña de los Enamorados was conferred upon his descendant, Jerónimo Francisco de Rojas, in the mid 18th century. This family was extremely influential in the town until the 19th century. One interesting anecdote is that the whole of the royal family stayed here during the visit of Queen Isabel 2nd to Antequera in 1862.
Architecturally speaking, the brick exterior of the building is based on the Castilian urban fortress model, with towers at each corner, though it also incorporates shapes and volumes typical of Andalusian Mudêjar. It was built in the second half of the 16th century, though its current appearance is totally different from that of the original building due to the numerous renovations that it has undergone, in particular the building work carried out between 1947 and1949 to convert it for use as a Carmelite school and boarding school.
Inside, little remains of the original layout as a result of a fire that occurred during the civil war. The patio only has three wings of columns, each featuring three brick arches supported by Tuscan columns in red El Torcal limestone. The upper level is crowned by a clay lattice cornice.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Jesús Romero Benîtez, Guîa Artîstica de Antequera
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