Casa de las Conchas

Historic Building in Salamanca

The Casa de las Conchas (the House of Shells) is a Gothic style building. It was constructed in the late 15th century, although it also features Renaissance and Mudéjar elements and belongs to the style known as Isabelline art.

This stately mansion was built from 1493 to 1517 by Rodrigo Arias de Maldonado, a knight of the Order of Santiago de Compostela. The building has a façade covered with carvings of scallop shells the symbol of the military Order of Santiago of which its first owner. The scallop is also the symbol of the pilgrims performing the Way of St. James.

In the 18th century it suffered cracks, causing the upper part to be remodelled leaving it without the shells that decorate the rest of the façade. One notable feature is the entrance door with a Gothic coat of arms featuring a fleur-de-lis on the upper part.

In the façade are also the coat of arms of the Catholic Monarchs and four windows in Gothic style, each one having a different shape.

The inner court is characterized, in the lower floor, by arches supported by square pilasters, while in the upper ones they are supported by shorter columns in Carrara marble.

Today the building houses the Salamanca public library.

It bears decorative similarities with the Casa de los Picos in Segovia

The Casa de las Conchas appears in our Complete Guide to Visiting Salamanca!

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