This building is one of the most expressive examples of the palatial domestic architecture of 16th century Granada, combining the formal features of the Islamic vernacular tradition with the new decorative and structural repertoires derived from the imported Italian Renaissance style. It owes its name, the 'House of the Shots', to the guns which can be seen pointing through the crenellations at the top of the façade, which reinforce the defensive character of the building. Dating from 1530, it probably has links with the Nasrid wall which ran through this part of the city. The decorative programme on the façade is based on the motto of the Granada Venegas family, who were originally related to the Nasrid royal family but were converted to Christianity after the conquest of 1492. The motto, "the (heart) commands", is reinforced with reliefs of a heart and a sword. Completing the decoration are five sculpture groups representing the classical heroes Hercules, Theseus, Jason and Hector dressed in the Roman fashion, and Mercury in the costume of a herald with the arms of the noble house on his dalmatic. The images are related to other symbolic elements such as the three bronze door knockers in the forms of a triangle, a square and an octagon, which are fixed to hearts on the wall and bear the following legends: "The (heart) commands, People of war exercise your arms", "The (heart) breaks, made into a door knocker calling us to battle", and "Door knockers they are, sounded by God and felt by the (heart)". On the main floor is the principal room, the Cuadra Dorada or 'Golden Square', a name alluding to its square shape and the abundant use of gold colouring in its decoration. The ceiling of the room presents a full decorative programme that represents kings and knights of the Spanish nobility, prominent among whom are the Catholic Monarchs and Charles V, the Great Captain and the Count of Tendilla, the first Captain-General of Granada. This pointed and emphatic iconography seeks to exalt the deeds and values of these figures, the representatives of a new period in history, together with a group of female figures located on four tondos with the busts of Queen Penthesilea, Lucretia of Rome, Queen Semiramis and Iudic (Judith), Queen of Jerusalem, chosen for their exemplary and symbolic lives. In the Casa de los Tiros, myth and history are linked in a decorative programme that exalts the noble caste of the knight in his dual role as a man of arms and of letters, in consonance with the humanist spirit of a period in constant transformation. Since 1929, it has housed the Museum of the same name, with an important library, archive and periodicals library that are essential for our knowledge of the art and history of Granada.