Roma Building (former Pompeya Clinic)

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Architecture · Subcategory: Civil architecture · Year: 1904 · Authors: Mariano Estanga

This imposing building facing Plaza de los Patos was commissioned in 1904 by Salvador Bethencourt y Clavijo, general of the Corps of Engineers, to the architect Mariano Estanga as a private residence. On this occasion, he expressed the wish for the family coat of arms to crown the main façade, as we see it today.

The house belongs to that select group of properties in which Mariano Estanga poured his creative capacity. The typology, of French origin, fits within the construction schemes that bordered the entire square, some of which have now disappeared.

Notable on the exterior is the wide-based spire that rises from one side, breaking the uniformity of the building’s height. Also interesting is the entrance porch which, originally and on one side, was intended as a carriage entrance.

Inside, it features a splendid staircase whose shaft blends Neo-Mudéjar resources in the ceiling treatment, combined with Tudor-style decoration from Victorian England. In the hall, or entrance room, some Modernist elements can be seen.

In the early 1920s, the building was converted into a clinic, a function it maintained until a few years ago. It currently houses various offices and businesses.

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