The Herrera y Rojas family settled in Teguise and turned the town into the political and social centre of the Canary Islands. Their home originally occupied an entire block, as can be seen in the plan by Leonardo Torriani, made in 1590. However, this once richly decorated house gradually fell into ruin. During the 19th century, another mansion was built in a vain attempt to imitate the splendour of the original. Whilst the foundation works for this new building were underway, fragments of the old arcade were found by accident in the subsoil. In order to get an idea of the sheer size of the old house it is useful to know that, today, this same surface area is occupied by six houses. Of these buildings, only one can be considered to be the real palace of the Herreras, where a stone in its interior, featuring podomorphic engravings, serves as archaeological proof of its identity.