Main house of the Navarro Tafalla family

Born in Murillo el Cuende, Juan Francisco Navarro was not a nobleman like the previous ones, probably due to lack of resources he crossed the Atlantic in 1722. We know little about what he did there, but it seems that he made an immense fortune, related to smuggling affairs with English and Dutch pirates, apparently also rendering certain military services in the transport of wealth and other unorthodox activities. Before his return to Spain, he sent money to acquire various properties such as the castle of Gorráiz, and once in Pamplona, he was granted the title of "ejecutoria de hidalguía" in 1756, and even a seat in the Cortes in 1760. The house was built by Martín de Lasorda from 1759 onwards, on properties acquired in 1752, following the designs of the architect Vicente de Arizu and Francisco Aguirre. Of note on the façade is the absence of Juan Francisco's coat of arms, as he probably did not dare to place them, due to the reluctance of the traditional nobility, who opposed his social elevation, saying that "this determined pretender... aspires to the expense of his grown-up family, aspires, at the expense of his large and wealthy wealth, to what cannot and does not correspond to his birth" and that "the progress that this pretender schemes to elevate himself, without blood or worthy merits, to the highest distinction of nobility and the singular honour of being a member of the Cortes" was unlawful.