In the Spanish city of Soria, there is a structure called the Palacio de la Antigua Audiencia Provincial. It is recognised as a cultural treasure and is situated in the central plaza. It was once the location of the Soria Town Hall and is now a cultural hub.
On the site of a former Renaissance palace, the Marquis of Velamazán's home, Soria's Town Hall and prison were constructed in the 18th century, initially to the designs of architect Antonio Serrano and then to those of Domingo Ondátegui and José Oaederra. It served as the House of the Lineages and, for a brief period after that, the Provincial Court's office over the years. Finally, in 1986, it underwent a comprehensive redesign for its current function as a cultural centre when the audience was moved to another building in the city of Soria. In addition to the theatre, it currently features two exhibition halls and two meeting rooms spread across its three floors.
It has two façades, the eastern one of which has two stories and opens into Plaza Mayor. The bottom level has a colonnade with five semicircular arches, the central one of which stands out due to its higher height and width, lending the structure a certain symmetry. A continuous balcony with eight openings can be found on the first level. The balconies' tops are finished with straight pediments. A sizable clock with a metal-forged set of bells, built in 1862, marks the conclusion of the façade facing the Plaza Mayor. This is the antique clock that was brought to the palace in 1862 together with the bells that are kept in the higher bell tower from the church of Nuestra Seora de la Mayor.
Following a small setback on the ground level, this façade is extended down Calle Pósito, which likewise has two stories. Two entrances, one with a semicircular arch and the other with a lintel, are located on the ground floor. Five balcony windows can be found on the upper story once more, but this time, individual wrought iron sills have been incorporated into the wall. Additionally, there are six tiny windows on two separate levels on the ground floor.
The façade opens onto Sorovega Street in a perpendicular northerly direction. Six small openings with a dense wrought iron grille are scattered across two levels and are separated by a semicircular arch on the bottom floor. These allude to the palace's previous function as a jail. Five balconies with forged grille parapets open onto this street on the first level; four of them have parapets that extend outward, and the fifth has a parapet that is recessed into the wall.
Except for a small piece on the top floor of the last section toward Calle Pósito, which is rendered and painted, the building's façades are all built of exposed limestone masonry. The building's whole roof is constructed of Arabic tiles, which either drain to the street or into inner courtyards.
Through an agreement that was published on August 26, 2021 in the Official State Gazette, it was designated as a Monument on July 29, 2021, making it an Asset of Cultural Interest.
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