Finca Marqués de Valdecilla

Why is this Finca interesting?
Due to its importance both natural and cultural, this is an almost obligatory visit in Medio Cudeyo. Discover the life of one of the most illustrious Indians of Cantabria, the Marqués de Valdecilla, walking through the gardens or visiting old constructions recovered dating from the early twentieth century are just some of the activities you can do on the Finca.

Marqués de Valdecilla.
Ramon Pelayo de la Torriente, Marqués de Valdecilla, was a skilled merchant from the town of Valdecilla, Cantabria. Born in 1850, at the age of fourteen, he traveled to Cuba and became an important sugar industry with interest in technical advances in the industry, which made him travel to the United States. He got married in Cuba with María Teresa Piedra Pérez-Abreu and at the end of the 19th century buildt her house around a cattle ranch that will expand with other properties. In 1920 he sold his business in Cuba and returned to live in Valdecilla until his death in 1932. His great work was the House of Health that took his name, now the University Hospital Marqués de Valdecilla. In 2003 the Municipality of Medio Cudeyo acquires the estate with all its cultural and natural heritage.

Do you want to visit it?
The farm has an area of about 15 hectares distributed in a garden and six buildings built between the 19th and 20th centuries. There we can enjoy:

• The White House

Main residence of Ramón Pelayo de la Torriente. Its location, on top of a hill makes it have excellent views of the localities of Valdecilla, Solares, and Ceceñas. The building has three floors, the main one having a large gallery overlooking the entire north slope of the estate.

Surrounded by a well-kept garden full of history, the White House is a museum that sums up the Marqués de Valdecilla's life trajectory, from its origins and its professional career to the head of the Ingenio Rosario in Aguacate, Cuba, to the footprint it left in Spain when he came back.

• Fountain of the children

One of the highlights of the Finca's garden. A work of the sculptor Mariano, that realized in 1928 by order of the niece and heiress of the Marqués, Maria Luisa Gómez Pelayo, marquise de Pelayo.

• San Rafael

It was the house of great guests of Ramon Pelayo de la Torriente and through it passed different personalities, among which stand out Rey Alfonso XIII or Miguel Primo de Rivera. This function made San Rafael a special importance with respect to the whole estate. In its distribution it is possible to appreciate the separation between the service area and the space of the owners of the house, so relevant at that time.

• La Casuca

La Casuca was the home of María Luisa Gómez Pelayo, the Marquis's niece and heir to her fortune and the title of Marquesa de Pelayo. It is integrated within the Finca del Marqués de Valdecilla and its architecture is traditional, presenting later additions, where it highlights the solana in the form of a gallery that takes advantage of the views of the garden and the luminosity of its layout.

• The natural value of the Finca

Gardens and trees both native and exotic form the natural environment of the estate.

The entrance to the estate and its gardens is free, although there are other paid visits, you will find more information about the visits at www.turismomediocudeyo.es

Reservation: 942 52 13 59 or marquesdevaldecilla@ayto-mediocudeyo.es

Source and more information in:
http://turismo.mediocudeyo.es/web/finca-museo-marques-de-valdecilla/