- The BIC declaration of this property represents the highest level of protection provided by the Spanish Historical Heritage Law 16/1985
- The palace, the current seat of the State Attorney General’s Office, is one of the most outstanding examples of residential architecture promoted by the Madrid bourgeoisie during the period of the Bourbon Restoration
The Ministry of Culture initiates the procedures to declare the Fontalba Palace as a Property of Cultural Interest
23/09/2026
The Ministry of Culture, through the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Fine Arts, has begun the procedures to declare Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC), in the category of Monument, the Fontalba Palace, located on the Paseo de la Castellana in Madrid.
El Official State Gazette Today it includes the opening of the file, which involves the application of this category of protection, the maximum provided in Law 16/1985, of June 25, of Spanish Historical Heritage, and recognizes the historical, architectural and artistic values of this property.
About the Palace of Fontalba
Located at number 17 on the Paseo de la Castellana (Madrid), the building was conceived as the residence of the II Marquis de Cubas y Fontalba, Francisco de Cubas y Erice, and María Encarnación de Urquijo y Ussía.
It is located on a plot of about 4,200 square meters that formed part of the historic estate known as ‘Huerta de Loinaz’, called ‘Huerta de las Anorias’ in the 16th century and which was owned by Felipe II. In the middle of the 19th century, the southern part of the estate was parcelled and sold in different lots and it is believed that the Cubas family acquired the corresponding one for the block delimited by the current streets Fernando el Santo, Fortuny, Zurbarán and the Paseo de la Castellana, to be later destined to the construction of the family residence.
The architects José María Mendoza y Ussía and José de Aragón y Pradera were in charge of carrying out the initial project, which was developed between 1911 and 1912, and the extension of 1931 in which a new body was incorporated along Fortuny Street intended for rental housing and commercial premises on the ground floor with an independent access and its own central staircase.
The Fontalba Palace is one of the most outstanding examples of residential architecture promoted by the ennobled bourgeoisie of Madrid during the period of the Bourbon Restoration, a new social group that consolidated its economic and political position between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th.
The building responds to the Italian influence palace model and stands out for its monumental character, its rich exterior ornamentation and a spatial organization designed to combine social representation, comfort and modernity. In 1914 he received the prize of the Madrid City Council for the constructions that stood out for their aesthetic value and for the incorporation of technical innovations. It was the first house in Madrid to have the installation of its own telephone line.
Francisco de Cubas y Erice died in 1937 and, seven years later, the Ministry of the Army acquired the palace from its heirs and established in it the headquarters of the Supreme Council of Military Justice. Since 1991, the building houses the headquarters of the State Attorney General's Office.