Castle-Palace of Magalia

The castle-palace of Magalia is a Renaissance-style building located in the Spanish town of Las Navas del Marqués, in the province of Ávila. Built in the first half of the XVI century, it was declared a Historic-Artistic Monument in 1931 and currently has the status of Well of Cultural Interest.

Style

View of the building.

The current name, Palacio Castillo, suggests that it was conceived as a Renaissance palace without forgetting elements typical of the defensive castles of earlier times, such as the circular tower that dates from the XI.

In the complex, the main façade with cantilevered balconies, Renaissance windows and an entrance door with a semicircular arch, the stone hallway, two Renaissance windows and two ogee arch doors, as well as a magnificent stone bench with dedication stand out of the first marquises, the courtyard with two galleries, the lower one with twenty-four arches of Ionic columns with the coats of arms of the Dávila and Córdoba family, and the upper one with the same number of Doric-style architrave columns, as well as two flat vaults located in one of the the turrets. These vaults are unique in the world, since there is only one other in the Royal Monastery of El Escorial. It also has paintings and furniture of great artistic value. All the paintings in the palace belong to the Prado Museum.

In the tower is the chapel, with cubist paintings by the artist Francisco Farreras.

History

Castle courtyard.

Chapel.

It was built by the first Marquises of Las Navas, Pedro Dávila y Zúñiga and his wife, María de Córdoba, who used it as the residence and administrative center of their marquesate. When the marquisate became part of the Duchy of Medinacelli in the XVIII century, the building was abandoned and finally sold, in 1906, together with the Las Navas land to the Spanish Resinera company, which later ceded it to the State so that it could use it for cultural purposes.

After the Civil War, it was managed by the Feminine Section of the Falange, which used it as a university residence.

Currently it is managed by the Ministry of Culture and Sports through INAEM and is used to host congresses, company meetings and cultural events. The Las Navas del Marqués tourist office offers free guided tours of the complex.

It has 41 rooms, a luxurious suite, which occupies the first floor of the eastern tower, dining room, with capacity for 84 people, several function rooms, games room, library, gym and heated pool.