Casa de Colón

The Casa de Colón is a museum in Valladolid devoted to Christopher Columbus, and the city has a real claim to the subject: Columbus died in Valladolid in 1506, after returning from his last voyage and spending his final months pursuing his claims with the Spanish crown. The court of the Catholic Monarchs moved around Castile, and Valladolid was one of its regular seats, which is why the explorer ended up there at the end of his life. The museum building stands on Calle Colón in the old town, close to the Palace of Santa Cruz and the Church of La Magdalena, and it commemorates his last days and what followed.

The building itself is a modern reconstruction in a traditional Castilian style rather than the house where he died, and it is better seen as a themed museum than a historic home. After his death the family kept up the legal dispute with the crown over the titles and revenues promised to him, and his son Diego took a central role in the lawsuits that ran for decades and are known as the Columbus lawsuits. That story is part of what the displays set out.

The exhibition follows the story of the voyages and their context. Visitors find documents, maps, replicas of navigational instruments and models of ships, along with material on the cultures of the Americas before European contact. The displays cover the negotiations between Columbus and the Spanish crown, the preparation of the first voyage and the world-view of the period, in which sailors still debated how large the Earth was. There is a monument to the Santa María, the largest of the three ships on the first voyage, and audiovisual material helps younger visitors follow the sequence of events. Guided visits are offered on some days, and the museum’s own website gives the current schedule.

The setting is the old centre of Valladolid, which has a lot to offer nearby. The Iglesia de Santa María la Antigua, with its Romanesque tower, and the Iglesia de San Pablo, with a richly carved late Gothic façade, are within walking distance, and the Monastery of San Benito el Real and the Palacio de Pimentel, where Philip II was born, are further into the city. Mercado del Val and Mercado Victoria give a taste of local food, and the Teatro Calderón is a short walk away.

The museum suits anyone curious about the Age of Discovery and works well as a short stop of an hour or so. Admission is inexpensive, but opening days and hours change, so check before going.