Zarzuela Palace

The Palacio de la Zarzuela is a palace complex located on the outskirts of Madrid, in the middle of a natural space known as Monte del Pardo. It is the private residence of the Spanish royal family as well as the headquarters of the House of His Majesty the King, although the Royal Palace of Madrid is the official residence but is reserved for formal events.

The Zarzuela complex consists of two buildings; a main building, the Zarzuela Palace itself, where the current monarch's parents, Kings Juan Carlos and Sofia, have their residence and where King Felipe VI's office is located, and a second building, the Prince's Pavilion, a small palace built in 2002 by National Heritage for the then princes of Asturias and which today houses the kings and their daughters.

The name of Zarzuela

The name possibly alludes to the abundance of brambles. Some suggest that it was there where the first recitals with music were held, as the transcript or correlate of what would later be disseminated and elaborated from Italy as opera. This type of show was called zarzuela because the Zarzuela was the place where the first performances of the aforementioned genre took place. The Hipódromo de la Zarzuela, built in the century XX, owes its name to its proximity to the palace. In 1856 the Teatro de la Zarzuela was inaugurated, which owes its name to the representation of this musical genre.

Construction of the palace

In 1627, King Philip IV ordered the construction of a hunting lodge as a small palace in the Zarzuela Valley, near Madrid. The palace was completed eight years later.

The work was commissioned to the architect Juan Gómez de Mora, who designed the building with a sober rectangular shape typical of the Madrid Baroque, inspired by the villas of Andrea Palladio. The gardens were designed by Gaspar Bandal. Alonso Carbonell finished the work with slate roofs, porticoed galleries and an Italian garden with stepped fountains on three terraces, a tree nursery and an orchard. The paintings placed in the palace were the work of by Simón López and the sculptures, by Bartolomé Zumbigo.

It consisted of a rectangular building with a slate roof with two side corridors. Its interior became richly decorated with paintings by the best artists of its time, which were later transferred to other royal palaces, according to Antonio Ponz at the end of the century XVIII. At this same moment it is reported that paintings by Paul de Vos, some paintings from the school of Rubens and Bosch, as well as other pictorial works with floral and still life themes are kept inside.

Charles IV modified the building to adapt it to the taste of the 18th century, and adorned it with tapestries and porcelain, as well as neoclassical furniture and a magnificent collection of clocks. At that time it served as a seasonal or temporary residence during the hunting trips that took place in the surrounding mountains.

The building was used by Alfonso XIII as a hunting lodge. For this reason, his son Juan de Borbón, Count of Barcelona, visited the palace frequently during his childhood.

It suffered serious damage during the Civil War. It was rebuilt between March 25 and October 12, 1958 by the architect Diego Méndez, who rehabilitated the existing palace, preserving its primitive box and the porticoed wall, also recreating the gardens designed in the century XVII, and an upper floor was added. The rehabilitation cost 40 million pesetas.

The private residence was on the first floor. In 1975, a left wing and a right wing were added to the palace. The left wing was made as the new, larger private residence. The right wing are offices.

A rich fauna surrounds the surroundings of the palace, nestled in the Monte del Pardo, with an abundance of deer, wild boar and fallow deer.

The interior of the palace

The Zarzuela palace has three floors. The first is occupied by an attic area, a semi-basement where the kitchen and office services are located, and a basement. The second floor houses the king's office and his assistants, the library, the visitor's room and the dining room. The third comprises the bedrooms, guest rooms and study rooms. In one of the two wings built in the 90s, the private rooms of the Royal Family were installed and in the other, the offices and security departments. The palace also has a small hermitage, a sports area and a heliport.

The king's office was presided over by a portrait of Charles III as an adult, and although it was replaced by a portrait of the infant Philip of Parma as a child made by Jean Ranc, since Philip VI reigns it has once again been presided over by that of Carlos III. The rest of the decoration mixes works of art from the National Heritage with personal objects. His seat is a brown leather armchair with legs on wheels.

Upon entering the office you can also see the painting titled The Cosmic Athlete, by Salvador Dalí. The walls are lined with light wood. On the table and shelves there are several frames with family photographs, one of them signed by Juan Carlos.

The swearing-in of the ministers, the president of the Government and the judges of the Constitutional Court takes place in the Courtroom of the palace, decorated with paintings and tapestries and also with the walls lined with light-colored wood. The ceremony takes place before a table with a golden crucifix, a copy of the Spanish Constitution edited by the Cortes in 1980 and a Bible from 1791 dedicated to Charles IV open to chapter XXX on the vote and oath of the Book of Numbers. The Audience Room is also used to receive guests from Spain or abroad before the press, although sometimes this reception before the press takes place in a room around a round table or in the room itself. palace gate

In 1999 the construction of the "Prince's Pavilion" began several hundred meters from the main residence. The person in charge of the project was Manuel del Río, director of the Department of Architecture and Real Estate of the National Heritage, and the interior decoration was carried out by the decorators Francisco Muñoz on the second floor, Patricia Sanchís on the first and both with the help of the Gastón firm. and Daniela. The chalet has a French fireplace, large windows, smooth canvas and stucco walls, travertine marble and teak wood for the bathrooms and stainless steel for the kitchen. For its construction, unlike what is usual in Spanish royal residences, tiles were used instead of slate. On June 26, 2002, the then Prince Felipe inaugurated his house, in which 4.23 million euros were invested. and has an area of 3,150 m².

Private residence of the Spanish royal family

Although the official residence of the king is the Royal Palace of Madrid, this small palace became the residence of Juan Carlos de Borbón and Sofía de Grecia from 1962 and with the establishment of the monarchy in 1975 They both decided to continue living in that place with their family.

In this way, it is common to distribute official events between both residences, such as the delivery of the ambassadors' credentials or the presentation of decorations, which are usually held in the Royal Palace of Madrid, or the receptions of foreign leaders or investiture oaths of national politicians, which usually take place in the Zarzuela palace.

The Infantas Elena, Duchess of Lugo, and Cristina left the palace on the occasion of their respective marriages, taking up residence in Madrid and Barcelona, respectively.

Since 1981, after the death of her mother, Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark, younger sister of Queen Sofia, also regularly resides in the Zarzuela Palace.