Instituto Santa Irene - Vigo, Pontevedra, Galicia, España
Posted by: 
Ariberna
N 42° 13.210 W 008° 43.924
29T E 522113 N 4674256
Building made with the capital donated by José Policarpo Sanz to the city of Vigo after his death.
Waymark Code: WM18FKV
Location: Galicia, Spain
Date Posted: 07/26/2023
Views: 0
José Policarpo Sanz, philanthropist born in Marín and died in Paris in 1889, achieved great fortune in emigration in Cuba and the United States. After his death, his will indicated the legacy of his fortune to the city of Vigo, but this donation included a series of clauses. After the death of his wife, Irene de Ceballos, a part of the capital would have to be allocated to the construction of a stonework building, which would be used as a school and institute and would bear the name of "Santa Irene". In this institute, a room would be reserved for the exhibition of his art collection, which he also donated to the city. The other part of his capital would go to the creation of a charity hospital. Irene de Ceballos died in August 1935.
In March 1941, the municipal corporation, chaired by Luis Suárez Llanos, assumed the transfer of the plot of "El Carmen" to start the construction of the institute. The architect Antonio Cominges Tapias will be in charge of designing the project, and the Pérez Conde house will be in charge of the works.
The works finished in March 1946. The Santa Irene Institute was officially inaugurated on September 16 of that same year, in a ceremony held in the auditorium of the center.
It is a construction with an E-shaped plan, seeking greater lighting and ventilation inside. The main façade follows an eclectic scheme. The ornamentation is centered on the central body, highlighted by a powerful tower that acts as an emblematic and referential element. The first and second floors are made up of a succession of double Ionic columns that follow one another vertically. At the main entrance there is a wide portico on which there is an ornate terrace with a Neo-Baroque balustrade. In the lateral sections there are some pilasters that delimit an orderly succession of openings. The treatment of the stonework stands out; white granite from Ulló (Arcade) or another of similar quality was used in the construction.
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