4/5 Max B. 5 months ago on Google
This
is
one
of
the
main
attractions
in
La
Orotava.
Here
you
can
find
the
Carpet
Art
Centre
and
some
of
the
most
ostentatious
and
representative
stately
homes
of
the
town’s
aristocracy.
You
can
see
the
façade
of
the
Méndez
Fonseca
house
or
"Casa
de
los
Balcones",
the
Ximénez
Franchy
house,
which
houses
the
Carpet
Art
Centre,
and
the
Molina
house.
Just
ahead,
at
number
3
on
Calle
San
Francisco,
is
the
Méndez
Fonseca
house
or
"Casa
de
los
Balcones",
a
name
that
it
was
given
due
to
the
exquisite
carved
wooden
balcony
perched
on
its
façade.
The
wood
used
in
traditional
carpentry
in
La
Orotava
is
pine
and
in
some
cases
Canarian
laurel
wood.
Its
style
has
an
indisputable
Portuguese
influence.
Let's
look
at
the
house
next
to
this
one,
number
five.
This
is
the
Ximénez
Franchy
home
and
it
currently
houses
the
Carpet
Museum.
It
was
originally
a
domestic
building
whose
construction
began
in
the
mid-17th
century.
Here
again
you
can
see
the
fine
Portuguese-influenced
woodwork
on
the
balcony
and
the
door
and
window
frames.
Inside,
you
can
see
how
the
floor
is
arranged
around
a
central
courtyard,
a
typical
feature
of
traditional
Canarian
architecture.
This
building
was
used
as
a
private
citadel,
with
rooms
divided
and
rented
out
at
low
cost.
The
citadels,
which
proliferated
in
the
19th
century,
were
small
communities
of
citizens
from
disadvantaged
backgrounds.
They
lived
in
large
buildings,
and
sometimes
entire
families
shared
their
everyday
lives
side-by-side.
Some
convents
in
La
Orotava
that
were
expropriated
from
the
church
during
the
Spanish
Confiscation
also
fulfilled
this
function,
such
the
Santo
Domingo
Convent.
In
this
museum,
you’ll
see
the
process
of
creating
both
sand
and
flower
carpets
and
historical
images
of
the
carpets.
Let's
look
at
the
huge
house
in
front
of
the
Carpet
Art
Centre,
Casa
Molina.
Built
at
the
end
of
the
16th
century,
it
occupies
a
huge
plot
that
takes
up
an
entire
block
on
Calle
San
Francisco.
Inside
you
can
find
a
courtyard
in
the
traditional
Canarian
style.
The
enormous
façade
is
of
the
late
Renaissance
style
with
some
plateresque
details.
Its
carved
pilasters
stand
out.
Carving
was
used
at
the
end
of
the
Renaissance
and
consists
of
a
partial
sculpting
out
of
the
pilaster,
giving
a
play
of
light
and
shadows.
After
multiple
changes
of
ownership,
the
property
went
into
decline
at
the
end
of
the
19th
century.
Its
courtyard
and
spacious
rooms
began
to
be
used
as
a
cockfighting
venue.
After
a
fierce
dispute,
the
cockfight
bettors
destroyed
and
ransacked
the
house.
It
was
declared
a
ruin
at
the
beginning
of
the
20th
century
and
was
later
restored.
Legendary
place!
