Casa de la Conchas, Peñíscola

We continue our walk along the eastern bastion of the fortress. There is a Maritime Museum on Calle Sol, but it is closed today. Instead, there was a surprise waiting for me at the end of the street.

As I turned the corner, I saw a house with Gothic lancet windows and a seashell facade. In addition to the amazing finishes, the house is notable for being owned by a family that started the tourist business in Peñiscola.

This story began in the fifties of the last century, when an economic crisis broke out in Spain. As a result, the family of Timoteo Pau and Justa Mir Soria with three young children were left without work. At that time, Spain was not yet a world center of mass tourism, and did not have the appropriate infrastructure, but travelers visited Peñíscola. Juste came up with the idea of offering tourists individual tours of the city and the castle of Papa Luna, leaving the reward at their discretion.

The energetic woman thoroughly studied the history of the town, thus becoming the first guide in Peñiscola. Tourism in those days was the lot of rich people, and they did not skimp on tips, and in 1961 Timoteo and Justa bought a house a block from the castle of Papa Luna and decorated its facade with shells.

The house became another tourist attraction and was named La Casa de las Conchas (House of Shells), and soon an enterprising family opened a souvenir shop on the ground floor, also the first in Peñiscola.

This house served as an example for other residents, and they also began to decorate their homes in moderation, so that the streets of the city now delight the eye with elegant and festive views.