Legend has it that over the centuries, young unwed mothers would leave their blanket-wrapped newborns on the chapel’s doorstep and the sisters of the Congregation of Charity, who managed the chapel and hospital, would take the babies in. Legend also has it that one of these orphans lived to become the town mayor!

A Byzantine-like fresco, recently uncovered on the landing of the main staircase, attests to the building’s spiritual heritage. Another half-floor up is the entrance to the accommodation, which leads directly into the large sitting room. Its vast ‘volta a schifo’ - pavilion-vaulted ceiling - indicates this section of the structure was probably added in around 1700. The master bedroom then features a star vault and the cosy second bedroom has a barrel vault (the historian believes these two rooms were originally open terraces and enclosed in the 19th-century), while the ceiling of the kitchen is a really lovely combination of star and barrel. The kitchen also features a large and rather monumental corner fireplace with a little second ‘stove’ for cooking.

The front, first-floor section of the building - the main pink façade visible from Via Libertá - was then added to the existing and already layered structure in the 19th-century by the Spanish ‘de Maria’ family, from whom the palazzo takes its name. Having lived in Madrid for 7 wonderful years, it was such a nice surprise to discover its Spanish heritage, not to mention the palazzo’s humble beginning, looking after the poor.