Today’s “casa” is really a palace—and right in Centro!

Step back to 1764 – the date hammered into the metal front door.

This magnificent edifice is so extensive that we all will need a rest after this tour! We will visit seven bedrooms and many more bathrooms.  

The tour passes, first, into a grand foyer with an antique French sideboard and 20′ high ceilings.

The library with appropriate leather armchairs has a stairway to a loft bedroom.  So many books, so little time!

The arched central courtyard is bigger than the Biblioteca’s courtyard! And it has a swimming pool.

Note the mural painted on the far wall.  Rustic furniture sits along the corridor.  

Antique enthusiasts will want to pause in front of the armoire with its elaborately turned side posts.

The kitchen is typical to the era – definitely a servants’ kitchen with stone walls.

A hand-hewn lintel is over the “stove cubby.”

The door to the dining room is at least three inches thick. (Perhaps the designer wanted to assure that guests would be protected in the event of a fire in the kitchen?!)

The red-walled dining room looks fit for a king, but we’re still scratching our heads … who would think of inserting a turquoise door in those red walls?  Floors and ceiling are brick.

The living room has arches with Doric columns and a wooden trussed ceiling.  An old leather trunk is repurposed as a coffee table.

Bedrooms are simple, but with fireplaces and niches for art, and always with chandeliers. 

Bathrooms have certainly been modernized since the 18th century but in a style compatible with the age of the building.  Each one has a giant soaking tub.

The blue and white bathroom is a masterpiece of tile work. Floors are stenciled with leaf designs.

A pebble stone courtyard is a private retreat adjacent to and serving two bedrooms.

Proceed up stone stairs to extensive courtyards with columns and fountains, barrel cactus and palm trees. Built-in stone seating is near the barbeque.

Walk over the star stone mosaic past a stone lion holding on to a “pila seca” (meaning a dry baptismal font).

Gaze towards the hexagonal cupola; the building was built for cock fighting, but less bloodthirsty styles have prevailed, and it is currently incarnated as a disco! 

Another library looks out to the courtyard.  See the antique rotary dial phone on the desk.

The primary bedroom functions as a separate apartment with two full bathrooms, a walk-in closet, library/TV room, kitchen, and patio.

Highlights include a hand-hammered metal headboard, a timbered and stenciled ceiling, and a striking chair upholstered in Fortuny fabric.

Your tour is now complete; please return to the 21st century. On the way out, you may wish to thank the current owners, a French couple.

“ It is behind the walls you see how we live”