The Hurtado de Mendoza palace, in Almazán (Soria), dating from the 15th century, suffered a major collapse this Tuesday, which opened a large hole in the facade and exposed part of the interior of the building, declared a Property of Cultural Interest (BIC). Due to the incident, stones, wood, and other materials fell down the slope reaching the Duero river roundabout.
The collapse occurred at 07:50 in the central area of the building, affecting a third of the facade facing the Duero area, with five of the eleven arches on the upper floor falling off, according to the mayor of the municipality, Jesús Cedazo, in statements to EFE. The town’s mayor, who was on his way to work, was caught on the road by this collapse, which caused the closure of traffic on the CL-116A road (Duero Roundabout, in Almazán). The closure will remain until the danger of further collapse ends and the removal of the fallen material can proceed.
The technical officials from the Mobility and Heritage departments in the province are already in the municipality assessing the extent of the collapse, and the building’s owners are expected to attend a joint meeting with the City Council in the coming hours. The Hurtado de Mendoza palace is one of the most unique historic buildings in Almazán and constitutes one of the main testimonies of the town’s historic architecture, having been declared a Property of Cultural Interest in 1991.
A collapse that “was foreseeable”
The mayor of Almazán has considered that the heritage loss caused by the collapse is “irreparable,” and pointed out that the City Council had been continuously demanding intervention in the building to prevent its deterioration. According to the mayor, the state of the palace had been monitored both by the architect of the owning family and by the Heritage officials, and although part of the building was worked on in 2011, the necessary actions to guarantee the conservation of the rest were never carried out.
Cedazo expressed his “anger and sadness” over this incident that “could have been avoided” if action had been taken following the persistent municipal warnings to Heritage, and therefore considered it “regrettable” that these things happen “due to institutional inaction.” This is not the first incident of this type to occur in the Autonomous Community. In January, the Mudéjar apse of the town of Muriel de Zapardiel, in Valladolid, collapsed.
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