Located in Valle de Guerra, the Casa de Carta is a significant example of an 18th century Canarian home. Although it first belonged to the Guerra family, in 1726 it was purchased by captain Matías Rodríguez Carta, and it is named after him. It has been owned by the “Cabildo de Tenerife” since 1976 and on 24 January 1987 it was opened as an ethnographic museum.
It has had many owners and occupants throughout history. Illustrious personalities have stayed in it, bishops, Captain generals; and even some meetings of the Tertulias de Nava were held here. It was also inhabited by Valle de Guerra sharecropper families, who have nostalgic memories of their childhood in the house.
The building and its surroundings were designated Cultural Heritage Asset, under the Monument category, on 27 January 2006.
It is a very well-preserved large country house thanks to the refurbishment carried out in the 1970s. The two-storey building is arranged around two courtyards. The crenellated wall opposite the front of the house bears a doorway with three battlements and a cross. Right behind it, stands the hallway preceded by a semi-circular stone arch and leads to the main courtyard with basalt stone flooring. It has balustrade parapets in three of its sides with wooden vertical supports plus corbels and gargoyles on the corners. The fourth side is blocked.
The house is divided in two areas around the courtyards. The main area features several rooms and a lounge that leads to a closed gallery facing north. The servant’s quarters are arranged around a lesser L-shaped courtyard facing south. These include the kitchen, cellar and servants’ rooms. The water tank is also in this zone, which spreads into the former farmlands and outbuildings. This is one of the properties that best represent the great historical country haciendas on the Island of Tenerife.
