The Palace of Nava and Grimón

The Palace de Nava and Grimón is one of the most flamboyant mansions of Tenerife. It is a baroque city palace, although it has Mannerist and Neoclassical traces. It is located in the Adelantado Square of the UNESCO World Heritage city of San Cristóbal de La Laguna.

The construction began in 1585 by order of Mr. Thomas Grimón, ruler of Tenerife and grandson of the conqueror of Flemish origin from Namurs,  Jorg Grimont, "The  Burgundian ". He was a member of one of the families that most profited from the generous land distribution after the completion of the conquest of the island of Tenerife for the Crown of Castile in 1496. The construction went through many alterations and additions, with perhaps the most decisive made in 1776 by Mr. Thomas Nava Grimón and Porlier, fifth Marquis of Villanueva del Prado, who first ordered the basalt stone covering the façade, giving the palace its present characteristic appearance.

The palace has been listed as a Building of Cultural Interest, with the category of monument, since 1976 and is well known for the splendid work of the stonework façade, crowned by a baroque wooden balustrade. Also known for its good metalwork, which is quite outstanding within traditional Canarian architecture with few examples among the mansions of Tenerife from any period. Other noted features are the extraordinary interior main staircase, carved in Italian Carrara marble and the stunning arcaded courtyard with columns carved in basalt over carved basalt (black volcanic stone) pedestals.

In addition, the Palace was home to the famous illustrious gatherings of the Duke of Nava, attracting the cream of the intelligentsia of the time in Tenerife.

Currently this Tenerife mansion is in a precarious condition, undergoing many plans for the future that have never, so far, materialized.

Linked to this Tenerife mansion is the so-called Triptych of Nava and Grimón, painted in 1546 by Pieter Coecke Van Aelst, and brought to the island from Brussels, by D. Thomas Grimón and García de Albarracín, for his oratory in his Palace in La Laguna, to enable him a special place to pray in his Tenerife mansion.

Currently this triptych is owned by CEPSA and is on deposit at the Museum of Fine Arts of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where it can be admired by all for free.