The Duke of Alba opens the doors of his house in Salamanca to us

© David Arranz

Taking the pedestrian Compañía Street we see, one after another, some of the great heritage jewels of Salamanca, starting with the House of the Shells, the Clerecía – headquarters of the Pontifical University –, several convents, the church of San Benito, in the square of the same name, and, in front of the convent church of La Purísima, the Casa de Alba palace, which he ordered built in the 16th century the third count of Monterrey.

We begin to discover the architecture and history of the palace outside, following the instructions of the audio guide provided at the ticket office. Sitting on one of the benches in the Plaza de las Angustias we contemplate the magnificent façade of this rectangular building that served as an inspiration for many otherssuch as the Archaeological Museum of Seville, the Palace of the Provincial Council of Palencia or the Academy of Cavalry of Valladolid.

© NJphoto / Alamy Stock Photo

We know that the project was commissioned by the architects Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón and Fray Martín de Santiago, that numerous local artists, craftsmen and stonemasons participated in its construction and that its side façade is only a part of what was planned, but still It’s magnificent. They decorate it towers with coats of arms, openwork crests that are an authentic filigree in stone and French-inspired fireplaces. It would take hours to see it in detail.

© David Arranz/Palacio de Monterrey

But the audio guide now takes us to tour its rooms, which in the 19th century housed a public school and today, in the hands of the Casa de Alba Foundation, are open to visitors to learn about its legacy. The tour of its four floors takes us through its living rooms, decorated with paintings and family photographs, in which you see Carlos Fitz-James Stuartto his two children, Ferdinand, Duke of Huéscar and Charles, Count of Osornoto his parents, Doña Cayetana and Don Luis Martínez de Irujo, to his grandfather Jacobo… Family portraits like those in any home.

© David Arranz/Palacio de Monterrey

On the tour everything seems to be ready to find its owners chatting in the rooms in front of the large stone chimneys from Villamayor where all you need to do is stoke the fire, sitting at the table in the dining room or reading a book from your library. Stained glass windows with shields, coffered ceilings purchased from the nuns of Salamanca and that of the staircase from the Castronuevo castle, porcelain tableware, canvas walls and furniture from past decades adorn the rooms of the palace.

© Palacio de Monterrey

It draws our attention, especially the bathroom Talavera ceramics, incorporated in the latest reforms. And many other pieces, such as two landscapes by José de Ribera, the bust of the Grand Duke, the collection of plant objects or the set of keys – one of only three that are preserved – that opens the tomb of Saint Teresa of Jesusand it has its explanation, due to the great friendship that united the mystic with the House of Alba, thanks to its support for the foundation of its convents.

© Palacio de Monterrey

Alfonso The monarch will stay up to two times in the rooms from the upper floors of the palace. The service cells are on the lower one, at the same level as we see the laundry area and the kitchens, prepared to serve a banquet.

© David Arranz/Palacio de Monterrey

To finish the visit to the Monterrey palace, a house with a soul – like the Casa Lis Museum, which is visited with a joint entrance (€8) – we are left with the spectacular views that can be seen from the tower terracewith the city at your feet and the grandiose building of the Pontifical University of Salamanca in front of your eyes. They deserve a photo.