Three Spanish palaces with beautiful artworks that you can visit

The Italian Room, one of the Palacio de Liria’s themed living rooms that’s filled with paintings by Perugino, Titian, Guercino and other artists. — Photos: EMILIO PARRA DOIZTUA/NYT

One of the most important cultural events in Madrid, Spain in recent years was the public opening, just before the pandemic, of a collection that had been sitting behind the closed doors of a private palace for about 200 years.

The Palacio de Liria, the grand 18th-century home of the Alba family – among Spain’s (and Europe’s) oldest and most storied aristocratic families – is set in a tranquil garden just steps from the bustling Plaza de Espana in central Madrid. Often compared to the Prado Museum and the Royal Palace of Madrid for the masterpieces it contains and the noble residents who lived there, the house is filled with works by Titian, Rubens, Velázquez, Goya and other artists favoured by the Spanish court. There are also vast literary and historic archives, as well as letters written from the Americas by explorers Christopher Columbus, Francisco Pizarro and Hernán Cortés.