Mesón de San Rafael

Mesón de San Rafael stands on Calle Compañía in Málaga, occupying the interior of an urban block behind a historic frontage. An eighteen-metre vaulted passage leads through number 38. Its neoclassical façade presents one bay, emphatic pilasters, and a frieze decorated with volutes and palms.

Municipal architect Cirilo Salinas designed the façade in the mid-nineteenth century, while the site continued Málaga’s tradition of hospitality. Its possible origins reach back to Muslim funduqs. A niche in the simpler attic holds a monumental lion linked to promoter León Bendicho. The building now serves as the headquarters of Turismo Andaluz. It became a monument in 2010 and entered Andalusia’s General Catalogue of Historical Heritage.

Inside, three spatial areas gather around two gallery courtyards and a third courtyard beneath a skylight. The main patio rises through three levels of arches. Sixteenth-century columns from La Merced convent entered the interior during the 2000 renovation. A second patio contains four galleries and an imperial staircase, while the elongated courtyard accommodates a conference room and theatre. Curved ceramic tiles cover the gabled roof above the main courtyard.