Villandrando School

Designed between 1910 and 1911 by the architect Jerónimo Arroyo under the tutelage of Eduvigis Sanz de Sedano y Monedero, viscountess of Villandrando, it was originally a place of asylum, recollection and training of governesses for orphan girls. Hence the name given to the building: San Joaquín and Santa Eduvigis asylum. It is an interesting example of floral modernism, with neo-Gothic or neo-Romanesque elements. Its main façade, on the other hand, can be considered a reinterpretation of Venetian Gothic and Catalan modernism, styles with which Arroyo had become familiar with during his stay at the Escuela Superior de Barcelona. The most original and suggestive part of the building is surely its cornice, decorated with a large ceramic frieze by Daniel Zuloaga, which symbolizes the donation of the founder. The architect used the contrast of colors between the frieze, the red of the brick on the walls and the white of the stone in the decorative elements to bring rhythm and liveliness to the façade. A wooden eaves completes the building, while serving as protection for the frieze. It was declared a Site of Cultural Interest in 1998 and reformed in 2007.