Casa de los Vaamonde

The house is located on the corner of Amargura and Isabel II streets,{{Sfn|Riveiro Tobío|2008|p=27}} in the upper western part of the old town, close to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major.

This noble house is one of the oldest civil buildings in the city.{{Sfn|Riveiro Tobío|2008|p=27}} It originally belonged to the Vaamonde or Ba(h)amonde family and was built between the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th century, around 1500. It was built in one of the most important locations in the city at the time, on the corner of the main street known as Açougue Street (now Isabel II Street).{{Sfn|Fontoira Surís|2009|p=224}}

The Vaamonde family spread from the north of Galicia to the rest of the Iberian Peninsula and, in Pontevedra, was linked to important lineages.{{Sfn|Messia de la Cerda y Pita|1989|p=340}}

Only part of the original, larger noble house remains,{{Sfn|Riveiro Tobío|2008|p=27}} which in the 15th century occupied the space between Eirado de Santa María and Amargura street. In the 19th century, the house was the Carabineros barracks and the headquarters of the Pontevedra Carabineros, whose original function was to guard the coast and borders.{{Cite web |date=21 February 1880 |title=Comandancia de Carabineros de Pontevedra |url=https://www.boe.es/gazeta/dias/1880/02/21/pdfs/GMD-1880-52.pdf |website=Gaceta de Madrid |language=es}} In the 20th century, in the 1950s, the house was used as a primary school.{{Cite web |date=26 June 2022 |title=Pontevedra, ¡Tan bonita! |url=https://www.pontevedraviva.com/opinion/7557/opinion-pepy-g-clavijo-pontevedra-tan-bonita/ |website=Pontevedra Viva |language=es}}

The house consists of a ground floor and two upper floors corresponding to three sections demarcated by horizontal bands of granite. On the main façade, the entrance door is preceded by three stone steps. It features an ogee two-lobed arch{{Sfn|Nieto González|1980|p=32}} with a small coat of arms divided in two in the keystone. The left half of the coat of arms (which features a helmet with a plume of a single feather) is decorated with a band of eight orders corresponding to an unknown lineage and the other half with a band of three and nine orders, the original coat of arms of the Vaamonde family.{{Sfn|Messia de la Cerda y Pita|1989|p=338}}

On this facade, there are two windows on the first floor, the one on the left with an ogee arch{{Sfn|Fontoira Surís|2009|p=224}} on a lintel and decorated with interlace, and another window with a balcony on the upper section. On the Isabel II Street side facade, there is a window with a segmental arch decorated with fleurons on the ground floor,{{Sfn|Fontoira Surís|2009|p=224}} two other windows on the first floor and three others (including two balconies) on the upper floor.

The cornice at the top of the façades is decorated with stone half-spheres or balls,{{Sfn|Riveiro Tobío|2008|p=27}} a typical feature of Renaissance architecture in Pontevedra,{{Sfn|Riveiro Tobío|2008|p=27}} which can also be seen on the cornice of the Casa de las Campanas.

The coat of arms of the neighbouring house also bears the Vaamonde family coat of arms, as well as those of the Mariño family (three waves) and the Andrade and Menelao families (an eagle).{{Sfn|Messia de la Cerda y Pita|1989|p=344}}

File: Pontevedra Capital Casa gótica en la calle San Nicolás.jpg|Façades

File:Fachada lateral de la Casa de los Vaamonde - Pontevedra city.jpg|Side façade of the Vaamonde House

File:Fachada principal de la Casa de los Vaamonde - Pontevedra capital.jpg|Façade with window with ogee arch decorated with interlace

File:Casa de los Vaamonde ventana lateral - Pontevedra capital.jpg|Window with its fleuron decoration

File:Pontevedra_Capital_Escudo_de_armas_Casa_gótica_calle_San_Nicolás.jpg|Coat of arms of Vaamonde House

File:Pontevedra capital Casa renacentista de los Cadavid García-Caamaño.jpg|Side facade of the Vaamonde house

File:Pontevedra Capital Portada Pazo renacentista de los Cadavid García-Caamaño.jpg|Renaissance façade

File:Pontevedra capital Casa renacentista de los Cadavid García-Caamaño Fachada.jpg|Main facade adjoining the neighbouring house

File:Pontevedra Capital Casa renacentista de los Cadavid García-Caamaño decoración de bolas.jpg|Renaissance decoration shaped like balls on the upper part of one of the façades

File:Pontevedra Capital Escudo Armas Casa de los Cadavid García-Caamaño.jpg|Coat of arms of the adjoining house

File:Pontevedra capital Casa de los Vaamonde renacentista.jpg|Main façade

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons Category|Casa de los Vaamonde}}

• {{Cite book |last=Fontoira Surís |first=Rafael |title=Pontevedra monumental |publisher=Diputación de Pontevedra |year=2009 |isbn=9788484573272 |location=Pontevedra |page=224 |language=gl}}
• {{Cite book |last=Messia de la Cerda y Pita |first=Luis F. |title=Heráldica, escudos de armas labrados en piedra existentes en la zona de Pontevedra |publisher=Diputación de Pontevedra |year=1989 |isbn=848684522X |location=Pontevedra|page=337-340 |language=es}}
• {{Cite book |last=Nieto González |first=Remigio |title=Pontevedra. Guía monumental ilustrada |publisher=Asociación de comerciantes de la calle Manuel Quiroga |year=1980 |isbn= |location=Pontevedra |page=32 |language=es}}
• {{Cite book |last=Riveiro Tobío |first=Elvira |title=Descubrir Pontevedra |publisher=Edicións do Cumio |year=2008 |isbn=9788482890852 |location=Pontevedra |page=27 |language=es}}

• Old Town of Pontevedra
• Casa de las Campanas
• Casa del Correo Viejo

• [http://patrimoniogalego.net/index.php/33669/2013/02/antigo-cuartel-de-carabineros/ Casa de los Vaamonde or Antiguo cuartel de Carabineros on the website Patrimonio Galego]

{{Pontevedra landmarks}}

{{Subject bar|portal1=architecture|portal2= Spain}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Casa de los Vaamonde}}

Category:Houses in Spain

Category:Renaissance architecture in Spain

Category:Gothic architecture in Spain

Category:Buildings and structures in Pontevedra

Category:Gothic architecture in Galicia (Spain)

Category:Renaissance architecture in Galicia (Spain)