Casa de los Tiros

Walking down the ancient streets of Granada, if you aren’t looking up you’ll miss the musket (tiros) barrels sticking out of the top of a fortress-looking house. Constructed in the 16th century, the house was once part of the wall of the Alfareros neighborhood in the Granada.

The original owners of the house were members of the Granada Venegas family, who converted to Christianity before the reconquest of Spain by the Catholic monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand and fought alongside the monarchs in their conquest of Granada. The family would go on to hold other military positions with the Spanish crown through the centuries, and the muskets mounted on the house reflect this martial history.

Besides the muskets, other parts of the façade reflect the Granada Venegas family. Prominently over the doorframe is a sword piercing a heart, symbolizing the family motto “The heart commands.” Also on the façade are statues representing Hercules, Theseus, Jason, Hector, and Mercury, meant to exalt the knightly family as men of both arms and learning.

Since 1929, the house has been a museum showcasing the popular art of Granada, including paintings, furniture, and sculpture. This also includes reflections from foreign artists visiting Granada, including Washington Irving, who published Tales of the Alhambra after a stay in 1828.