Royal Collections Gallery

The main entrance to the Gallery is located on the ‘cornice’ of the Armería square. From this entrance, the route takes visitors down three levels to learn about the outstanding role played by the Spanish monarchy as collectors and patrons, as well as the work of Patrimonio Nacional in the conservation, research and dissemination of the rich cultural and natural heritage it manages.

Visitors will descend via wide ramps where they will be shown various audiovisual resources that contextualise the collections they are about to discover. In the first room (floor -1), devoted to the Habsburgs, the collections of tapestries and the Royal Armoury enter into dialogue with works by Bosch, Titian, El Greco, Ribera, Velázquez and Caravaggio. The construction of the Monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial occupies a prominent place, as does the founding of the Royal Convents, quintessentially feminine spaces and symbols of power and patronage.

This floor offers a privileged insight into the origins of Madrid: the 9th-century city wall and gate discovered during the construction of the building. The archaeological room explains the history of early Madrid and the evolution of the city up to the present day with a video and various educational aids.

The tour of floor -2, dedicated to the Bourbons, begins with the architectural drawings of the new Royal Palace, built on the orders of Philip V after a fire destroyed the Alcázar, and ends with a model of the Royal Collections Gallery as an epilogue to the major monumental and museum complex of the Royal Palace of Madrid.

Themes such as music, the royal factories and manufactories and the construction of the Royal Palace of La Granja, represented through decorative arts, tapestries, musical instruments and furniture, will be displayed alongside works by Mengs, Goya, Tiepolo, Paret and Maella. At the end of the tour visitors receive an explanation of the purpose and role of Patrimonio Nacional, the institution responsible, among other functions, for the conservation and dissemination of the Royal Sites and the Royal Collections.

Floor -3, accessible from the Campo del Moro gardens, is designed as a more dynamic exhibition space. In addition to the temporary exhibition room, there is a large immersive cube offering 360º video projections of the architectural and natural spaces of the Royal Sites.