General Francisco Franco's palatial summer residence is open to the public

22:45 El NACHO 0 Comments

General Francisco Franco's palatial summer residence is open to the public after a lengthy legal battle between the government and the late Spanish dictator's family.

The regional government challenged Franco's family in early 2008 to open the property for public viewing. A court ruling in Oct. 2010 in favor of the government opened the house to its first visitors Friday.

The palatial country house - Pazo de Meiras in Sada - in northwest Spain previously belonged to novelist Emilia Pardo Bazan (1851-1921) and is considered a national monument.

However, in 1938 it was offered by local businessmen to Franco, and since his death in 1975 heirs to his estate have considered it their own.