A Spanish homeowner who found a Renaissance facade hidden inside the walls of his own house is to receive a reward of one million euros, his lawyers announced on 10 November. Juan Francisco Leon Catena made the discovery in 2016 while renovating his home in Ubeda, a historic town in Andalusia. Behind an unassuming wall lay the facade of the old San Jorge hospital, also known as the Santisimo Sacramento or Pero Almindes, a work attributed to the Renaissance architect Andres de Vandelvira.

Vandelvira was responsible for the most important buildings in Ubeda and neighbouring Baeza, whose Renaissance centres were declared a World Heritage Site. The facade had been concealed for centuries, and its chance discovery turned an ordinary renovation into one of the most remarkable heritage finds in recent Spanish history. The building's historical and artistic value was quickly recognised, and the find became the subject of a lengthy legal dispute over what its discoverer was owed.

Under Spain's law on historical heritage, chance discoveries entitle the finder to a cash prize from the regional culture department, amounting to half of the value attributed to the objects found. In this case the claimant was entitled to half of the value of the art discovered inside his own house, and a quarter of that belonging to the adjacent property. The High Court of Justice of Andalusia ruled in 2020 that Leon Catena had the right to the reward, overturning an earlier decision by the Andalusian regional government that had rejected his claim.

The monument itself remains in limbo, with its future unresolved even as the reward is settled. The case has become a reference point for how Spain treats chance finds in private homes, where centuries of building and rebuilding have left historic fabric hidden behind modern walls. For Leon Catena, a decade after the discovery, the ruling has finally established his entitlement to a seven-figure sum, though he has yet to receive the money.