Art & Culture
Cultural Heritage
The Palacio Lili is an architectural ensemble in Zestoa with origins dating back to the 16th century.
It is made up of two main structures connected together: next to the Lili palace, the dressed stone façade of which makes it one of the finest examples of mediaeval palace building, is an adjoining building known as Lilibea. The site is completed by the Errotatxo and Errotazar mills and the remains of two old ironworks.
The history of the Palacio Lili is in fact closely linked to the production of iron and wood. For years the Lili family had stayed neutral in the confrontations between Oñacinos and Gamboinos. At the end of the conflicts, the small fortified house of Lilibea was converted into a palace by Domenja de Lili and her son Juan Pérez de Idiáquez, a house that was to serve as a symbol of its owners' social status, as well as a centre for important businesses.
Over the years, with several generations of owners, the palace was turned into a farmstead, which in the year 2000 was purchased by Zestoa town council, which began restoration work and a programme of themed visits to publicise the history of the palace and the lineage of the Lili family.