Madrid has a spectacular new museum, opening this month, showing centuries of the royal family’s collections to the public in an unusual new museum that cascades down a hillside from the Royal Palace.
The Royal Collections Gallery will show 650 works owned by the royals and not usually on display. Some, including important paintings by Velazquez and others have either been in storage or displayed in obscure parts of the palace, while others have never had a public showing.
Besides paintings, there are a 16th century tapestry originally owned by Queen Isabella, a first printed edition of Cervantes’ Don Quixote and a multicolor wood sculpture by Luisa Roldan, Spain’s first female court sculptor.
The museum is run by the Patrimonio Nacional, Spain’s state heritage agency, whose director says the goal of the museum is to “show the diversity, richness and quality of what Spanish monarchs have collected over five centuries.”
The gallery will change up its exhibits roughly every 18 months to help maintain public interest, with a focus on showing off newly restored items. The new building itself is also a draw, and has won awards; the entrance is on the top floor and goes down seven stories on the face of the hill.
