PhD Program in Historical studies
The Asturian palaces of the Counts of Toreno
The palace, located in the city of Cangas del Narcea, was built in the seventeenth century and is one of the prime examples of the Baroque in Asturias. It was built under the orders of Don Álvaro Queipo and Bernaldo de Quiros after having received the title of counts of Toreno from Philip IV. It is a square shaped building with square towers, placed in three of the four corners and decorated with family coats of arms. Both the towers and the central building maintain harmony in the placement of the windows and balcony. The heart of the building is the main door which is in stone, with a balcony on top. The centre of the interior is occupied by a courtyard with a colonnade on which an ample wooden gallery rests. The structure has been proclaimed a historic and artistic monument and it currently is home to the city hall of Cangas del Narcea and a cultural centre.
At Salas, another town in Asturias, one can visit a Medieval palace (centuries XIV-XVI), which was created for defensive and residential reasons. The square tower with merlons in the corner on the left could date from the fourteenth century. The principal façade is formed by the tower, a small intermediate body and the principal body to the right, with a great gate which has a Gothic arch. Above the gate there is a square window with the same decorative system. A staircase begins at the vestibule which leads to a stone corridor and several rooms (about sixteen), many of which conserve their origin decorations while others have been very altered. Worthy of note is the furniture and internal decorations.
There are many other Asturian palaces which belonged to the counts of Toreno. For example, at Santianes de Tuña, one can admire a structure with two towers (photo) with an adjoining chapel which holds a splendid Baroque altarpiece. At La Malleza, the palace of the counts of Toreno dates from the thirteenth century and today, after a long history which has seen it become a convent of the Trappist order, a barracks for Napoleanic troops and again a private dwelling, it is now a hotel. Other family palaces can be found in Ardaliz, Carballo, Cueras and San Pedro de Arbas.