In Lora del Río, Andalusia, the Palacio de los Leones stood for four centuries before undergoing a twenty-year restoration. Behind its walls, the Moreno de la Cova family uncovered 17th-century columns once thought lost, installed a library salvaged from a Madrilenian palace, and breathed new life into the old stables. Eleven bedrooms later, a simple reservation is all it takes to step behind the facade.
Two lions at the gate. We are expected for a two-night stay at the palace.
They have stood here far longer than we. Carved into the Baroque facade that gave the Palacio de los Leones its name, the two felines keep watch over a residence whose history stretches back to the 17th century. Yet, when the Moreno de la Cova family acquired it in 2001, the palace was far from ready to welcome guests: it was the beginning of a restoration project spanning more than twenty years.
During the work, a family friend noticed something unusual in one of the patios. Taking a hammer, he began tapping away at the wall, revealing the original 17th-century columns once more. They had been bricked up generations ago, largely to protect them from the passage of horse-drawn carriages. Rather than rebuilding an idealized palace, the restoration transformed into a detective story: uncovering doors, azulejos, frescoes, floors, and architectural features that the centuries had buried.
Other treasures traveled far before arriving here. The palace library originally stood in the old Palacio de Villahermosa in Madrid, now the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum. Gifted to the family, it was dismantled, transported to Andalusia, and painstakingly restored by local artisan Alonso Morales. Today, it houses the palace’s book collection and an Honesty Bar—a rather delightful evolution for an aristocratic library.
Elsewhere, the original 17th-century wooden stables endure. In the stairwell, an early 17th-century Virgin of the Rosary has been returned to its original setting; in one bedroom, archangels painted by artist Jorge Parra now watch over the bed.
After two decades of labor, the first grand celebration at the palace was, fittingly, a family affair: Catalina Moreno de la Cova chose the house to celebrate her birthday, surrounded by friends who had traveled from across the globe.
Taste
Andalucía · Palacio del siglo XVII · Two lions at the door · Lora del Río · Seville countryside · Patios andaluces · Hidden columns · Azulejos · Biblioteca antigua · Palacio de Villahermosa
