Madrid Royal Palace information - Madrid monuments and places of interest
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MADRID Information: PALACIO REAL |
| The palace can be reached from Oriente Square by going back along Bailen Street. The parade ground stretches in front of the facade of the Almudena Cathedral but is separated from this by a stone-paved area where some interesting archaeological finds have been made. The Royal Palace stands on the site of the original Arab fortress. Much of the structure was kept intact until the reign of Carlos I, when the first reforms were made. The fortress had played an important role in the rebellion of the Communities, which coincided with the moment the emperor arrived. Since the keeper of the fortress was absent, his wife. María Lago. defended it, and she gave in only after a very long siege. The defeat of the communards in Madrid was brought about in part by the treachery of Juan Arias Davila, lord of Torreon de Velasco, who started by supporting the rebellion. However, he later surrendered his weapons to the imperial army, and received the title of Count of Punoenrostro as a token of gratitude from Carlos I. Despite his victory, the king must have thought that he did not have the popular support of the people of Madrid, because, although he enlarged and embellished the fortress, he did not set up his Court in the city. 
After Felipe II ascended the throne, the Court moved to Madrid and renovation work started on the fortress once more with the acquisition of large areas of land, the Campo del Moro and the Casa de Campo. From then on, several monarchs were committed to redesigning the building. The Bourbon dynasty made radical changes to the fortress - it was far too austere for their liking, In 1734, while Felipe V was celebrating Christmas Eve with his family in the Buen Retiro Palace, the building burnt to the ground with the loss of an excellent collection of paintings and valuable objects. It was rumoured that the king was not displeased about the fire and he made the most of the situation by starting a new building from scratch. Other sites were rejected and work was started by Juan Bautista Sachetti, who had to modify the plans of the original project drawn up by his master, Felipe Juvara, to adapt them to the final site. The architect chose stone, granite from the hills of Guadarrama for the facades, and white limestone from Colmenar for the finishing touches and decorative details. This would prevent the palace from being destroyed by fire again. The outside adornments of the building were left to Father Sarmiento, a Jesuit priest. who decided that the palace would be rounded off by statues of all the Spanish monarchs. Carlos III later decided to move these to other corners and gardens in the city. The scale of the work meant that the foundations had to be dug very deeply, to the same depth as the nearby riverbed of the Manzanares, Under the first keystone, a small chest containing coins minted in Spain, Mexico and Peru was buried. Construction work moved forward slowly for many years until the reign of Carlos Ill, when Sabatini and Ventura Rodrfguez worked on it. 
The end result was the building that visitors can see nowadays, covering an enormous floor space, surrounding a large central courtyard and with towers crowning the four corners, Access to these is through the huge Armeria Square. Visits can be made individually or in guided groups and start in this square, which is separated from the cathedral by elegant ironwork. The side of the palace looking out onto the Armerla boasts a large clock and the balconies of the throne room. 
A trip round the inside starts with the impressive main staircase and goes through a series of rooms, decorated according to the tastes of Carlos III and Carlos IV, with ceilings by Juan Bautista Tiepolo, Rafael Mengs and other painters. The highlight is the throne room, with a vault painted by Tiepolo and a set of brass statues; also Gasparini's ante-room, containing two portraits of Carlos IV and another two of Marfa Luisa de Parma, by Goya. Next to this small room is Gasparini 's salon, possibly one of the most spectacular rooms in the palace, with an impressive marble floor, a profusion of mirrors, candelabras and other colourful, roccoco adornments. |
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