That's how it was... WELCOME to the palace! 2020
Seventh edition with guided tours, concerts and conferences
The General Directorate of Cultural Heritage held the seventh edition of Welcome to the palace between the months of September and December 2020, a program in which guided tours, concerts and conferences allowed locals to enjoy an extraordinary selection of palaces of the region.
More than 55.000 people have participated in the previous six editions, encouraged by the possibility of visiting these spaces, whose access ─either by ownership or by use─ is normally restricted.
In this year's edition, although its duration and number of places has been reduced due to the current health crisis, more than 6.000 places were offered and 15 palaces participated that opened their doors to publicize, free of charge, cultural heritage that they guard.
Among the novelties of this edition, he highlighted the determined commitment to endow the concert cycle with a unitary character in which music and cultural heritage acquire a new joint dimension. A) Yes, Beethoven revolutionizes palace. An unheard of cycle on the 250th anniversary of his birth focused on the life and work of the Bonn composer through six new and innovative musical proposals. In addition, for the first time, all the concerts were recorded entirely on video and are freely available on this page and on the YouTube channel of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Welcome to the palace! also joined the commemoration of the Galdós Year through the cycle of conferences Galdós and the palaces of Madrid in which the role of the aristocratic environment and the palaces of Madrid in his work were analyzed, confronting the literary analysis with that of the cultural heritage. Likewise, all conferences are freely and freely available on this website and on the YouTube channel of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, with subtitles in Spanish to facilitate accessibility of the content.
Guided tours
Welcome to the palace! In its seventh edition, it offered the possibility of visiting 20 of the best palatial buildings in the Community of Madrid, selected for largely preserving their original compositional characteristics, both at an architectural and ornamental level. The visits were guided by specialists in Heritage didactics, who explained the architectural and ornamental evolution of the buildings, as well as the various functions they have had throughout their history.
In total, more than 5.000 places were offered for this activity that took place, depending on the palace in question, from Monday to Sunday during the months of September to December.
The guided tours were, like the rest of the activities program, free of charge and aimed at adult audiences.
The visits were made in the following palaces (click on the name for more information):
Basilio Avial's Mansion. Headquarters of the ONCE Presidency.
Palace of the Marquis of Rafal. Residence of the Ambassador of Belgium.
Buenavista Palace. General Headquarters of the Army.
Fernán Núñez Palace. Foundation of the Spanish Railways.
Godoy Palace. Center for Political and Constitutional Studies.
Palace of the Duchess of Parcent. Ministry of Justice.
Laredo Palace. International Center of Historical Studies Cisneros and Cisneriano Museum.
Liria Palace. Casa de Alba Foundation.
Palace of the Marquises of Fontalba. State Attorney General's Office.
Palacio de Viana. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation.
Zurbano Palace. Ministry of Development.
Palace of the Infante Don Luis de Borbón. Boadilla del Monte.
Palace of the Marquis de Villafranca. Royal Academy of Engineering.
Joaquin Sorolla Palace. Sorolla Museum.
Florido Park Palace. Lázaro Galdiano Museum.
Concerts "Beethoven revolutionizes palace. An unprecedented cycle on the 250th anniversary of his birth"
Complete videos of all the concerts of Welcome to the Palace! 2020
Lecture series: Galdós and the palaces of Madrid
Full videos of all the Welcome to the Palace! Conferences 2020