El Buen Retiro palace of Madrid was a large architectural complex built by order of Philip IV and designed by the architect Alonso Carbonel as a second residence and place of recreation. At the time it was on the eastern limit of the city of Madrid.

Of the entire complex, only two buildings remain standing. The Buen Retiro House and the Hall of Kingdoms and part of the Parque del Retiro. Today in 365 days in Madrid We will dedicate ourselves to the Casón del Buen Retiro, built in 1637, initially designed as a space for a ballroom for the Court of Philip IV.
Join the Museo del Prado since 1971. For decades it has housed the XNUMXth century painting collections as well as Picasso's Guernica until it was moved to the Reina Sofia Museum in 1992.
After years of works, the Casón was reopened as a Museum Study Center in 2009. The XNUMXth century collections were relocated to the main headquarters of the Prado thanks to the expansion de Rafael Moneo.
The Neapolitan painter participated in the decoration of the Casón Luca Giordano, who painted the Allegory of the Golden Fleece in the vault of the building. It is the only original thing that remains of the building, although highly restored by two 19th century painters, Germán Hernández Amores y Jose Garnelo. The great value of this Giordano vault, one of the masterpieces of the Prado Museum, seems to have been the reason why the Casón building was preserved while the other remains of the Buen Retiro complex disappeared with the construction of the neighborhood of the Jeromes.

Today Luca Giordano's vault room houses the reading room of the Prado Museum Library. There is the possibility of attending the free guided tour for visitors inside the Museum that takes place in this room on Sundays at 12 noon, with prior registration, 30 minutes before the start of the activity, at the meeting point of the Education Area, located in the lobby of the Jerónimos Building.

In the 19th century, after the destruction of the Buen Retiro complex, the Casón underwent an expansion and two new facades, in a neoclassical style, were added. He participated in this expansion Mariano Carderera, who was removed from the direction of the building's works when one of the facades collapsed, entrusting the new facade to the architect Ricardo Velazquez Bosco.

The view we like the most is without a doubt from Retiro Park, what about yours?

A abrazo.