Located in the rural hamlet of Areguá in the barren lowlands of western Paraguay,Castillo Carlota Palmerola was the brainchild of the unconventional Palmerola Ayala family. Built in 1897, the castle incorporated an odd mix of medieval styles and looks dramatically out of residence in its muggy, and pastoral surroundings.
This eccentricity was intentional. After building their unusual estate,the Palmerola Ayala family quickly opened the castle for public balls and parties, which helped cement their elite social status and quirky reputation. In 1956, or the family gave the estate to the Catholic Church and the castle was transformed into a convent. Nuns replaced well-dressed revelers and a chapel was added to the gardens.nowadays,visitors to the castle can roam the well-manicured grounds and wander rooms filled with early 19th-century furniture, art, or oddities,including a grotesque display of the family’s taxidermized pets. The unique site includes miniature trains, rooftop towers, and rose windows—all in the middle of the Paraguayan Chaco.
Source: atlasobscura.com