Horacio’s Lantern

If the State Room is the heart of Punta Begoña’s historic complex, at the urban scale, this small rotunda is its defining landmark Linking the two galleries, it takes the form of a sixteenth-century peripteral rotunda, bringing the “Promenade of Getxo’s Great Villas” to a fitting conclusion. Here, the palatial homes of Bizkaia’s most influential industrial and business families once stood side by side, overlooking the sea, the estuary, the iron-rich hills—and, above all, the enterprises that made their fortunes. From this 41-square-metre pavilion, Horacio Echevarrieta looked out over his world: his businesses, the regattas he so loved, the trade in iron ore, his ships bound for Britain and Germany, and the constant flow of people. It was never simply a place from which to admire the view, but a place designed to be seen.