Palacio de Miranda-Valdecarzana

The Palacio de Miranda-Valdecarzana, in Grado, is today the municipality’s Casa de Cultura and is listed as a Historic-Artistic Monument. Its original construction dates from the 15th century, but it was completely remodelled in the 18th century, when the chapel of Nuestra Señora de los Dolores was also built, between 1713 and 1716. In the 19th century it served as barracks for Napoleonic troops, and in the 20th century it housed the tax office and later a Guardia Civil barracks.

The building is cube-shaped, with four three-storey towers at the corners and a spacious central courtyard, where eight octagonal columns support the wooden gallery of the upper floor. Around the courtyard are the exhibition hall, the Aula de las Metáforas and a room that preserves an old cider press; the upper floor houses the Biblioteca Pública de Grado and the classrooms of the Escuela Municipal de Música.