By Enrique Palacio, Principal Architect
We’ve now completed the major building works at Palacio Nazarenas, and have begun cleaning the façade, using fresh water and soft materials to avoid any damage to the original stone. We have also cleaned the ancient fountain in the main cloister.
Enrique Palacio and Jorge Zavaleta in front of the main entrance of Palacio Nazarenas.
Helping us with this project is a professional team, led by Jorge Zavaleta (pictured with me at the main entrance). The original name of Palacio Nazarenas is La Casa de las Sierpes and you can see why: there are a lot of snakes carved into the stones, including two big ones—one with a moustache!—above the main door.
The image of a snake carved into the facade of Palacio Nazarenas.
During the cleaning process we have discovered that former owners of this building painted it in a variety of different colours, although we don’t know exactly when each layer was added. Amazingly, it looks as if they also used gold leaf in certain areas. We may even apply this finish again in some places—watch this space!