Cal Pal

Cal Pal de la Cortinada is a space meant to foster thought on the identity, origins and the natural and cultural heritage of Andorra. This stately home has been documented since the 14th century, back when it was still known as the Escoter inn.

The house is located in la Cortinada (Ordino), next to the road that goes from the Vilar bridge to the Sobirà bridge. Cal Pal was part of a group of properties owned by the Escoter inn and donated in 1435 to Joan Pal d’Ordino by Bernat Escoter, vicar of la Massana, and his mother Raimunda Escotera.

The house was managed by the Pal family during the late middle ages and the early modern age until they joined with Casa Teixidó from Sispony through marriage, although the name of Cal Pal has always been kept. Anton “Tonillo” Torres Armengol, known as “el Pal”, was the last inhabitant of the house; after his death in 1956 with no descendants, the house was sold to Serafí Reig Ribó in 1962 by el Pal’s siblings, who lived in France.

Cal Pal is one of the most representative constructions of Andorran vernacular architecture, and many enlargements have been documented in the 16^th and 19^th centuries, when a third annex body was added, as well as the dovecot and two covered galleries. The building was restored by its owners and was opened as a sociocultural space in October 2018. Cal Pal houses temporary exhibitions, the first of which has been “Primera pedra” (“First stone”) by Jordi Fulla (1967-2019), dedicated to dry stone.

Click here to visit the website of Cal Pal de la Cortinada