Chronology
- 15th century
The origins of the Pazo de Mariñán date back to the mid-15th century as a defense commissioned by Gómez Pérez das Mariñas, a noble knight of the court of Juan II, who actively participated in the Irmandiñas fights. Gómez Pérez das Mariñas called himself "Lord of the Mariñas, of Mesía and of Moscoso". The initial construction is known as "de Bergondo".
Mariñán from Gómez Pérez das Mariñas is inherited from father to son. It is a genealogical line that, without breaks, ends in Don Gerardo Bermúdez de Castro and Suárez de Deza, lord of Láncara. A good part of the great Galician lineages converges in his blood: the houses of Traba, Altamira, Lemos, Luis de Pimentel and Sotomayor, Hueca, Sarmiento, Ulloa, Suárez de Deza, Osorio, Láncara, etc.
- 18th century
In the second half of the 18th century it began to become a pazo (a residential palace for aristocratic families) and its orchards and farmland were transformed into well-tended gardens. The architecture of the Pazo presents a plan of a “U” structure. The main façade is dominated by an imperial staircase, where two stone servants, administrator and butler, receive newcomers. From the staircase there is access to the entrance room that acts as a distributor to the other units. The rear façade is dominated by a wide terrace with balustrades and a curious organization of accesses, interspersing sections broken at an angle, topped with sculptures of vases, fountains and channels for water games.
The large chapel may have had a primitive foundation with the second daughter of Gómez Pérez de las Mariñas, Doña Constanza, who inherited this house. However, in the 18th century, within the stylistic guidelines of the Baroque, an absolute reform was carried out. The façade, with a bell tower and pinnacles topped in balls, is typical of that century. On the contrary, the altarpiece takes us into neoclassical rationalism. It presents two doors; one in the upper part through which owners and those close to the small choir or tribune accessed, and another on the ground floor, forming a right angle with the main facade of the house, through which the rest of those attending the worship entered. In addition to fulfilling its religious function, it was, as in other pazos, a link between the owners and the surrounding neighbours.
- 1936
Its last owner, Mr. Gerardo Bermúdez de Castro, who when he died without issue in 1936, donated the Pazo to the A Coruña County Council for social purposes. It was hospice for more than three decades. At present, in addition to being a museum and art gallery, it hosts institutional events and socio-cultural activities.
