|
Real de Madrid Palace (Palacio Real de Madrid) is the
first royal palace in Madrid was known as the Alcázar.
Royal Palace of Madrid
History
Palacio Real de Madrid was initially a fortress built
around 875 by Muhammed I on a promontory that was soon incorporated into the north-west corner
of the city walls.
The Trastámara dynasty altered the structure, creating new towers around the
military courtyard, a chapel and a room decorated with Mudéjar-style images.
In 1536 Charles V, as part of his general initiative for improving a number
of royal palaces, commissioned a major reworking of the palace. But almost 200 years later, a
fire on Christmas Eve 1734 destroyed nine centuries of history but enabled the new dynasty to
build a palace to its own taste.
The new Palacio Real was built from 1738 to designs by
Giovanni Battista Sacchetti. The new palace, built on a square ground-plan from Colmenar stone
on a granite base, displays Italian and French Neo-classical influences.
Royal Palace of Madrid
Decoration
In 1753 the decoration began under Corrado Giaquinto; Anton Raphael Mengs
and Giambattista Tiepolo took over in 1761–1762. The palace’s collection of paintings,
sculptures and tapestries by leading Spanish, Italian, Flemish and French artists, which had
suffered heavily in the fire of 1734, was increased by successive monarchs, notably Charles III
(1759–1788).
Among the works that survived the fire, however, were the gilt bronze lions
by Giuliano Finelli in the red satin-lined Salón del Trono; the same room has a painted ceiling
by Tiepolo, depicting the Glory of Spain. Mengs decorated the ceiling of the Gran Comedor
(formerly the Cuarto de la Reina) with the Triumph of Aurora (1762–4); and Francisco Bayeu also
painted al fresco ceiling decorations.
Also by Mengs is the unfinished altarpiece in the Capilla Real; the ceiling
displays impressive paintings by Giaquinto who also painted the ceiling above the palace’s main
marble staircase.
The palace also houses the Armería Real, the central
feature of which is a collection made by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V of Flemish and German
armour.
In 1962 the Nuevos Museos were established in the
north-west wing of the palace in order to exhibit properly the numerous paintings contained in
the royal collection.
Royal Palace of
Madrid Map&Location
Address:
Royal Palace of Madrid, Calle Bailen, 0, 28001
Madrid, Spain. Get help with directions using the map provided
bellow:
View Larger Map
|
