The palace was built in 1541 by Juan Pizarro de Orellana around an older defensive building built to protect the narrow access from the Plaza Mayor to the main road to Seville. Orellana was one of the leaders during the conquest of the Inca Empire and his palace was the first of the grand renaissance buildings constructed in Trujillo. Its interior patio and cloister are particularly notable as is the main facade with its stone balcony above the elaborate doorway. Of particular interest is the fact that the author of Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes, stayed for a time in this palace under the protection of Fernando Pizarro de Orellana.