- The BIC declaration of this building is the highest level of protection provided by the Spanish Historical Heritage Law 16/1985
- The central palace, next to the Plaza de Cibeles in Madrid, began to be built at the end of the 18th century as the residence of the Duchess of Alba and since 1982 it functions as General Headquarters of the Spanish Army.
The Council of Ministers, on the proposal of the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, this morning approved the declaration of Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC) of the Buenavista Palace, in Madrid, in the category of monument. In October 2024, the Ministry of Culture began processing the file for this declaration, which involves the application of this category of protection, the maximum established by Law 16/1985, of June 25, on Spanish Historical Heritage.
The building, the headquarters of the General Staff of the Spanish Army of the Ministry of Defense, is located at the beginning of the Recoletos promenade and occupies one of the chamfers of the Plaza de La Cibeles, where it shares space with emblematic buildings such as the Banco de España and the Palacio de Comunicación, the current headquarters of the Madrid City Council, and with the Palacio de Linares.
Its construction began in the late eighteenth century with a scheme aligned with the great palaces of the time and following a sober and rigorous aesthetic that, although typical of the neoclassical style, masks a Baroque project. The BIC declaration also means the protection of the so-called ‘noble zone’ of the palace and the iron fence that separates the gardens from the street and which was completed at the end of 1873.
A palace to be admired
The work began under the direction of the French architect Juan Pedro Arnal, who in turn was able to draw inspiration from a previous project by Ventura Rodríguez, of which the model is still preserved. An altozano was chosen as a site in one of the clearest places of the Court, to facilitate the contemplation of the monument. At the same time, the panorama that was covered from the palace was the one that originated its denomination of Buenavista.
The building was designed next to a garden and several fountains to serve as a residence for Doña María del Pilar Teresa de Silva, Duchess of Alba, although she never inhabited it because of two large fires. Despite the successive transformations and remodels, the original structure has always been respected.
Subsequently, the palace was acquired by the Municipal Corporation to offer it to Manuel Godoy. However, the estate of Charles IV could not be installed in it either because, as a result of the Aranjuez mutiny of 1808, his property was confiscated. Durante el reinado de José Bonaparte, por decreto volvió a ser intervenido para ser transformado en Museo de Pinturas.
In the middle of the 19th century it was reformed according to the project of José María Aparici and as part of the expansion plans, to incorporate the orchard of the corregidor Juan Fernández, the walls that closed the plot were demolished and the fence that still today marks the limits of the garden was installed. On its front door you can still see the figure fused with the bronze of one of the cannons of the war in Africa, made in 1873 by Eugenio Duque and Duque.
In 1870 a new crunch was incorporated, forming a second patio, following the style and proportions of what has already been built. Inside the palace are distributed a series of rooms and halls, decorated according to the use they were given historically, and with a wide collection of tapestries, paintings, sculptures and other goods.
The palace has been linked to the Army since 1816, initially as a Military Museum. He became Ministry of War in 1847, of the Army in 1939 and of Defense from 1977 to 1981. In 1982, with the transfer of the Ministry of Defense to its current location, on the Paseo de La Castellana, it was transformed into General Headquarters of the Spanish Army, a function that it retains today.