On a small rise in the old town of La Orotava stands a stately mansion with no equal in the town: the Liceo de Taoro. Built in 1928 for the married couple Tomás de Ascanio y Méndez de Lugo and Catalina Monteverde y Lugo, it has the scale of a palace, unusual for the local context of the time and further emphasised by its commanding position. Since 1975 it has housed the Sociedad Cultural Liceo de Taoro, the cultural and social society of the town.
Good to know: the building is the seat of a private society, so you mostly see it from the outside, from its gardens and the neighbouring Plaza de la Constitución. Visit it together with the old town and the Jardines Victoria, a few steps away.
The house was built at the behest of Tomás de Ascanio y Méndez de Lugo and his wife Catalina Monteverde y Lugo, two families of the valley's old bourgeoisie. The design has long been attributed to the architect Mariano Estanga. What stands out is the sheer scale of the building: a palacete of a size unusual for the La Orotava of the time, set on top of a small hill that makes it visible from afar and opens up a view over the town and the valley.
Inside, the owners wanted lavishness everywhere: in the decorative schemes as much as in the finishing of the materials. The site also has landscape value — the house is surrounded by greenery, with flower beds and gardens in the romantic taste that extend the architecture and frame the views.
Since 1975 the mansion has been the seat of the Sociedad Cultural Liceo de Taoro, a private association that acts as a cultural and social reference point in La Orotava: concerts, lectures, exhibitions, society life. It is this second use, more than the family history, that explains why the house has remained maintained and alive.
Where: at the top of the Plaza de la Constitución, old town of La Orotava (northern Tenerife), right next to the Jardines Victoria.
Access: exterior and gardens freely visible; the interior depends on the society's programme (concerts, events).
Combine with: Jardines Victoria, the Plaza de la Constitución, the casas de los balcones and the Church of the Concepción, all within the same pedestrian area.