Palace of the Counts of Ribagorza, on Calle Mayor in Benasque

The Palace of the Counts of Ribagorza, at number 6 on Calle Mayor in Benasque, is today the village's cultural centre. It opens all year on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 16:30 to 20:00, with exhibitions and events that change according to the programme.

The building

It is a sixteenth-century stone manor house, owned by the municipality, also known as Casa Regatillo or Casa Albar. The inventory of Aragonese fortifications describes it as a building of great sobriety because of the material used, but with more and larger windows than is usual in a mountain house, all with dressed-stone surrounds. On the south corner it has a corner turret on a conical support, classical in inspiration; on the other corner there is another support, which suggests either that there was a second turret or that it was never built.

It is striking that the counts, protagonists of so many revolts in the Ribagorza, did not build a tower. The same entry suggests that perhaps there was no need: opposite stood the Torre de la Cárcel, a sufficient sign of power. Today it is a study and exhibition centre.

The walk

It is the excuse for exploring the old town of Benasque on foot, with its cobbled streets and stone houses, on your way down from the pistes. Benasque was part of the old county of Ribagorza, which brought together the valleys of the River Ésera. On the same walk Turismo de Aragón highlights other manor houses, such as Casa Marcial del Río, Casa Faure and Casa Juste, and the church of Santa María la Mayor.

The palace is at 1,138 metres above sea level, according to its entry, and the valley is surrounded, according to Turespaña, by the greatest concentration of peaks over 3,000 metres in the Pyrenees, with the Aneto, at 3,404, the highest. The Posets-Maladeta Natural Park, created in 1994, begins very close by.

Opening hours and visit

The cultural centre opens on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 16:30 to 20:00, with special hours depending on the programme. The Tourist Office, on calle Horno, a couple of steps away, is open every day morning and afternoon and will tell you what is on. The palace is on Calle Mayor itself, so you cannot miss it.

To combine with

In the morning, the Cerler resort or the Nordic area at Llanos del Hospital; in the afternoon, the palace and a walk around the old town.