The Royal Palace

The Royal Palace is a place that you have to visit in your golf trip to Madrid. It is not the official residence of the King of Spain who live at the Zarzuela Palace outside Madrid. The Palace has the role of official banquets, state ceremonies and other important events.

The Royal  palace dates from the ninth century and actually is built on the site of the old Alcázar which was destroyed by fire on Christmas Eve 1734. King Felipe V decided to build a palace for his Borbon dynasty. The Italian Filippo Juvara was selected to design the new palace and his plans were to create a grand palace along the lines of France’s Versailles. All construction was vaulted in stone and brick, not wood, so that any fire could destroy it.

The works were carried out between 1738 and 1755, Carlos III established his residence there in 1764.

For interior decoration, rich materials were used: spanish marble, stucco, mahogany doors and windows and important works of art, particularly frescoes by leading artists of the moment as Giaquinto, Tiepolo and Mengs and his Spanish followers Bayeu and Maella.

The decoration of the Royal Palace of Madrid has been changing over time according to the different artistic styles of the moment.

It has a central interior courtyard, whilst another courtyard, the “Plaza de Armas”, on the south side, acts as the principal entrance to the palace. This courtyard looks out on to the Almudena Cathedral. The Palace occupies 13 hectares, has 870 windows, 240 balconies and 44 staircases.

Madrid’s Royal Palace of is considered by many to be one of the finest palaces in Europe.