Next to the Makurtegi is a palace. It belongs to the Villaviciosa family. The Villaviciosa family were very prominent figures in this place and, as they rose to prominence, they brought glory to the place with their naval and other memorable deeds. The building has a rectangular plan. The main body follows the alignment of the street and the other side is set back. There is a wide stone staircase in it and is used to reach the first floor. The main facade faces the old street of the town, while the rear facade faces the mountain. There is another access from the left facade and you can reach the second floor directly.
It is a beautiful 16th century Renaissance house. It has ashlar walls and is well-crafted. Where the window protrusions are visible, a molding appears and surrounds all the facades on each floor. The molding is repeated on the cornice. Beautiful fine moldings appear around all the gaps. There are two doors and a window on the ground floor. On the first floor you can see two large windows and a small window in the middle. The entrance to the setback facade is made up of a semicircular arched door and also has a lintel. To complete all this, a small window can be seen. There are three windows on the top floor and two more where the facade sets back.
According to the information provided by the historian L. de Isasti of Lezo, the Villaviciosa family settled there around the 8th century. At that time, Fortunio de Villaviciosa was a captain in the army of Alfonso I. Fortunio’s sons stayed there to defend it. Since then, military, commercial and privateering navigation was their passionate profession for many people who came from that root. Witness to this, among others, Admiral Domingo Villaviciosa (1587), who died in the Year of Flanders, or Juantxo Villaviciosa (1590), admiral of the Cantabrian squadron under the command of Miguel de Oquendo; or Juanot de Villaviciosa, a general of the army who fought in Florida, who participated in the battles of Oran and Ceuta. All of them gave the town a great name. We should also mention Juan de Villaviciosa. He built ships and was an admiral. He died in the conflict in the Azores. In 1486, Captain Miguel stole the Pendon from the Moors in Loja (Granada). That is why it was called the Golden Pendon. A man from Villaviciosa sailed the seas as a corsair. He was also a member of the church.
On the main facade of this beautiful building there is a plaque commemorating the departure of the Marquis of Lafayette to the American War of Independence in 1777.
