A vacation in Madrid, features a new treat for travelers, as the Alba family opens its doors to the art-filled Palacio de Liria. Moreover, the family has opened the doors of its iconic homes in Seville and Salamanca. Here, we concentrate on getting a taste of a bygone era in the Alba home in Spain’s capital.

View 15th- and 16th-century art in Palacio de Liria in Madrid

A visit to Madrid brings to mind the city’s many museums and art galleries, but since the pandemic, travelers now have another amazing place to visit. The much-storied Alba family has opened the doors of its Madrid home, the Palacio de Liria. This iconic home features fancy chandeliers, embossed wallpaper, ornate furniture and walls filled with 15th- and 16th-century gold-framed paintings,

One of the palaces themed rooms is the Italian Room, filled with art by Titian, Perugino, Goya, Guercino, Velázquez and other artists. This amazing collection had been hidden behind closed doors in the private palace for around 200 years.

The palace is the 18th-century home of the Alba family and nestles in a beautiful garden a few steps from the Plaza de España in Madrid. With its many masterpieces, the palace is often compared with the Royal Palace of Madrid and the Prado Museum. Moreover, the Alba family’s home has historic literary archives, including letters written from the Americas by explorers like Columbus, Cortés and Pizarro

The 19th duke shares the family treasures

It was the 19th duke, Carlos Fitz-James Stuart, who decided to share the family’s treasures through the Casa de Alba Foundation. Besides the iconic Madrid property, he also opened the doors of the Palacio de Monterrey in Salamanca and the Palacio de las Dueñas in Seville. Meanwhile, the grand palace with its formal gardens continues to be the duke’s main home.

Hidden Palace

The palace is hidden from the street by cedar trees and magnolias and its Baroque façade can only be seen once visitors enter the garden. Meanwhile, the building was designed by the architect Ventura Rodríguez. Moreover, the palace was extensively rebuilt in the 20th century.

Visitors pay 15 euros ($16.40) to enjoy a 65-minute audio tour of 14 of the palace’s rooms, including the library. Here, the oldest bible in the Spanish language can be seen, along with a second edition of Cervantes’s Don Quixote and around half of Columbus’s correspondence. This includes the explorer’s hand-drawn maps of Hispaniola from his voyage in 1492.

While exploring, visitors can see marble columns, a beautiful staircase and trompe l’oeil paintings filling the palace’s walls.

One ornate room boasts an elaborate chandelier and paintings by Spanish artist Goya. Meanwhile, the ornate staircase takes visitors to a gallery lined with portraits of the family’s links to the Stuart monarchs of Britain.

Moreover, the Flemish Room boasts art by Jan Brueghel the Elder, Rubens and Jacob van Ruisdael. The room is lit by a Meissen chandelier, with clusters of porcelain flowers. Meanwhile, the Italian Room is filled with paintings by Palma Vecchio, Perugino, Luca Giordano, Titian and Andrea del Sarto.

The Spanish Room features the work of Ribera, Velázquez and Zurbarán, while the Goya Room features work by the artist including his portrait of his friend and muse, 13th Duchess of Alba.

View more of the art-filled Palacio de Liria in Madrid, the Palacio de Monterrey in Salamanca and the Palacio de las Dueñas in Seville on the Foundation Casa de Alba’s website here.