PALACE OF CHAPITELES

The Palacio de los Chapiteles has
a fairytale name and the life of an administrative novel. It was born as a manor house (its origins date back to modern times) and was the City Hall for 115 years, from 1865 to 1980, so if the walls could talk… they would probably ask to speak. Today it is the headquarters of the Instituto de Estudios Riojanos, in other words: it is still dedicated to storing and producing knowledge, only without window stamps.

And the “spires”? Look at it above: finials, roofs, details that crown the building with that air between elegant and practical. Civil architecture of this type seeks balance: to represent power (because someone was in charge here) and at the same time to function (because work was done here). That is why the palace combines urban presence with proportion: it is not a fortress, but it does not go unnoticed either.

Trick of the eye: notice how it dialogues with Portales Street. In Logroño, Portales is a walkway, a showcase and a refuge; and this building, located at a key point, acts as a hinge between the monumental and the everyday.

And a wink: if you’ve been following the history of the city, think that decisions have been made here that affected lampposts, markets, festivals… and real life. Sometimes, great history doesn’t happen in battles: it happens in buildings where someone said “approved by majority”.