Velázquez Palace

The Velázquez Palace stands in the Retiro Park and was built between 1881 and 1883 for the National Exhibition of Mining held in Madrid from May to November 1883. The architect was Ricardo Velázquez Bosco, who was also responsible for the Glass Palace. L’architecte Ricardo Velázquez Bosco, qui a donné son nom à ce palais, fut chargé de sa construction, en compagnie du céramiste Daniel Zuloaga et de l’ingénieur Alberto del Palacio.

Cet édifice proche de l’historicisme néo-renaissance s’inspire du Crystal Palace de Londres (1851), créé par Joseph Paxton. Il est recouvert d’une verrière soutenue par des voutes en fer qui permettent d’éclairer les salles de manière naturelle. The building is 73.80 metres by 28.75 metres in size and was built using two-tone brick and tiles from the Royal Factory at La Moncloa. Today it belongs to the Ministry of Culture and is used by the Reina Sofía Museum (MNCARS) for temporary exhibitions.