Palacio de Bendaña, Renaissance palace in Alde Zaharra district, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain.
Palacio de Bendaña is a three-storey palace of ashlar stone built between 1525 and about 1560 on the site of the medieval Maestu tower, whose remains are still visible outside. Its main facade has a pointed Gothic arch and a cylindrical corner tower, while the courtyard galleries show full Renaissance forms.
Construction began in 1525 under Juan López de Arrieta, built upon the remains of a medieval tower from the Maestu family. The palace thus rose from an earlier fortified foundation.
Since 1994 the palace has housed the Museo Fournier de Naipes de Álava, the playing-card museum of the Provincial Council of Álava. Its collection comes from the Fournier factory in Vitoria, and the displays trace how cards were printed and designed over the centuries. The museum shares the Bibat complex with the Museo de Arqueología de Álava next door.
The palace stands in the eastern section of the medieval old quarter, surrounded by other historical buildings and museums in central Vitoria-Gasteiz. The area is easily walkable, with many other points of interest nearby.
The star-shaped octagonal vault over the staircase survives from the late Gothic phase of the building, alongside the pointed arch doorway on the main facade. The palace was built between 1525 and about 1560, and the cylindrical tower on the facade was a display of the owners' status.
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