History
Building
RoomsOrigin and location
The headquarters of the MVCA is, since 1966, the Palacio de Nájera. This one is located in the historical center of the city, in the corner of Nájera street with the Coso Viejo, also known as “Plaza de las Verduras”, and just in front of the convent of Santa Catalina de Siena, forming one of the most suggestive urban complexes of Antequera.
The main facade and its main entrances are open to the Plaza del Coso Viejo, one of the main extensions between the medieval city and the Renaissance Antequera outside the walls, which arose from the late fifteenth century, after the capture of Granada by the Catholic Monarchs.
In the first third of the 18th century, the construction of this palatial building began, which has a double interest for Antequera, in its monumental aspects and historical significance.
Architecture
Its façade shows two clearly differentiated parts in time. The oldest, which corresponds to the ground and main floors, dates from the beginning of the 18th century, while the lookout tower and the attic body were built in the second half of the 18th century. This tower is the work of the Antequera master builder Nicolás Mejías. Its model responds to the typical Antequera civil tower scheme, which had been repeated in the city since the sixteenth century. The boldness of its cornices is surprising, as well as the mastery of the cut brick technique.
Through the vestibule, we access the cloistered courtyard. It has a square floor plan and has twelve Tuscan columns, on which rest brick arches and a second fairly compact body. Also within the architectural chapter we have to highlight the magnificent stairwell. It has a square floor plan and a double section of round trip, covered with a dome decorated with profuse plasterwork.
