The Casa de las Caras — House of the Faces — is one of the most intriguing buildings in Pontevedra's old town. A 16th-century pazo, it takes its name from the seventeen carved stone heads arranged across the facade, each one different in expression and detail. The identity of those depicted has never been established.
The building sits in the heart of the historic quarter, a short walk from the Herrería square. Its ground-floor arcades are typical of Galician urban architecture of the period, designed to shelter pedestrians from the Atlantic rain that dominates winter in this part of the peninsula. The upper floors are closed to visitors but the facade itself is the attraction — worth pausing in front of even if you have already seen a dozen other old buildings in Pontevedra's compact centre.