Palacio Juan Pizarro de Orellana

This 16th century palace was originally the strong-house of the Vargas lineage but was purchased by Juan Pizarro de Orellana, a cousin of Fransisco Pizarro, after his return from Peru. The palacio originally had two huge towers and thus was of defensive nature, however, by the order of Queen Isabel the towers were cut down and today are not very significant to the building. The queen ordered the reduction of all towers in noble families to signify the power of the throne over the rising nobility, to symbolically limit their power. The building, despite the shortened towers, is a beautiful work consisting of a cloistered patio, two floors, and exquisite stone design. The famous author Miguel de Cervantes once was a guest in this palace (1582), and has paid homage to the Pizarro-Orellana lineage in his third novel Persiles and Segismunda.

(Cervantes)

This palace is quite special in the history of Trujillo and the New World because it once served as the Casa de Contratación, or House of Contracts. It was in this place that the people who wished to travel to the Americas and continue the colonization and conquest signed the contract to do so. Therefore this palace played a very significant role in the expansion of the empire into the New World. (Bissell, page 12)