Description
Despuig Palace and Oriol Palace, neighbouring buildings located in Carrer de la Rosa, are both of them large civil Gothic representatives in the city. Built in the XVth century, it is very possible that they were united in the past, as they are today.
Despuig Palace stands out in its rectangular courtyard. It contains a large stone staircase that accesses the first floor, where a gallery with pointed arches opens. In addition, polychromed beams are still preserved on some of the ceilings on the ground floor, where different coats of arms are painted with decorative motifs.
This palace was the ancestral home of the noble family Despuig and is the stage where it takes place the fifth Colloquium of the book «Los Col·loquis de la Insigne ciutat de Tortosa», written by the Renaissance Knight Christopher Despuig in 1557. During the chapter, the city inhabitants Fàbio and Lívio and the valencian Don Pedro talk about a delicate subject: the Catalan civil war occurred between 1462 and 1472. Keeping someone from gossiping, the palace becomes the ideal place to do political confidences . With this work, Despuig has bequeathed to us a great witness of the city, society and thoughts of the XVIth century.
Oriol Palace, meanwhile, is listed as a Cultural asset of Local interest. The name comes from the last noble family that inhabitated it, the Oriol, although it was owned, at different times, by Marco and Bellet families. The building is arranged around a central patio, which has a set of arches tha topen up the staircase to the courtyard. On the columns that sustain the arches there are three sculpted shields: Tortosa, Catalonia and the «Diputació». Today, together with Despuig Palace, is the headquarters of the Music Conservatoire of Diputació de Tarragona in the city.
