The Palacio del Marqués de Portugalete was a grand palace built in the 1860s, located at 56

Calle de Alcalá Calle de Alcalá is among the longest streets in Madrid. It starts at the Puerta del Sol and goes on for , to the northeastern outskirts of the city. Henry David Inglis described it in 1837 as "long, of superb width, and flanked by a splendid rang ...

, on the corner of Calle Alfonso XI, in Madrid. Also known as the Palace of Bailén, it belonged to the family of Francisco Javier Castaños y Aragorri, a descendant of General Francisco Castaños, who was the victor at the

Battle of Bailén The Battle of Bailén was fought in 1808 between the Spanish Army of Andalusia, led by Generals Francisco Castaños and Theodor von Reding, and the Imperial French Army's II corps d'observation de la Gironde under General Pierre Dupont de l' ...

. It was built by architect Adolfo Ombretch, who also built the nearby palace of Linares. For many years it was a venue for the wealthy elite to meet and discuss national politics. It was demolished after the Spanish Civil War, and in 1946, replaced by the National Institute of Forecast, now occupied by the National Institute of Health.

History

The palace was built during the reign of

Isabel II Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868. Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successio ...

. Its owner was the Marquis of Portugalete and the

Duke of Bailén Duke of Bailén ( es, Duque de Bailén) is a hereditary title in the peerage of Spain accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1833 by Ferdinand VII to Francisco Javier Castaños for his military achievements during the Peninsular ...

, originally called the "Bailén Castaños", a title created in 1833 by King Ferdinand VII for of General Castaños, and declared perpetual and hereditary in 1847 by Queen Isabel II. General Castaños died childless, so the property passed to the peerages of Luis Ángel de Carondelet y Castaños, his sister's son, and her husband the Baron of Carondelet, the 2nd Marquisate of Portugalete. The design and construction were executed by French architect Adolfo Ombrecht. It had a ballroom decorated with flowers, a chapel, a billiard room, a hall of portraits, bathrooms decorated in Pompeian style by the painter Oreste Mancini, a gallery museum, a music hall and a large number of dependencies. The palace contained tapestries and paintings by Francisco Goya, Vicente López, Palmaroli,

Eduardo Rosales Eduardo Rosales Gallinas (4 November 1836 – 13 September 1873) was a Spanish painter. He was an adherent of the Italian-based art movement known as " Purismo" and specialized in historical scenes. Biography He was born in Madrid. The second ...

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo Bartolomé Esteban Murillo ( , ; late December 1617, baptized January 1, 1618April 3, 1682) was a Spanish Baroque painter. Although he is best known for his religious works, Murillo also produced a considerable number of paintings of contemporar ...

, Francisco Pradilla Ortiz,

Madrazo Madrazo is a Spanish surname and sometimes uses as "Maderazo" in the Philippines and US: * Ángel Madrazo (born 1988), Spanish road cyclist * Carlos Madrazo (1915–1969), Mexican politician * Roberto Madrazo (born 1952), Mexican politician affili ...

Antonio Gisbert Antonio Gisbert Pérez (19 December 1834 – 27 November 1901) was a Spanish artist situated on the cusp between the realist and romantic movements in art. He was known for painting pictures of important events in a country's history in a re ...

, José Casado del Alisal, and the renowned sculptor Mariano Benlliure. The palace featured Carrara marble, ebony and ivory furnitures, colorful chandeliers and windows."EDIFICIOS DESAPARECIDOS DE MADRID (PALACIO DEL MARQUES DE PORTUGALETE)", Madrid sin prisas. may 9, 2013
/ref> The palace was built in the center of its lot, and had an inner courtyard with garden. The palace was built of alternating stone and brick. stone primarily for corners, gables, cornices, doorways and windows. To highlight the design of the central body, the facade of the calle de Alcalá formed a curved space. At the death without descendants in 1882 of the third Duke of Bailén, Eduardo de Carondelete y Donado, the titles passed to his niece, Encarnación Fernández de Córdoba. The palace and its contents however were inherited by his widow, María Dolores del Collado y Echagüe, who really gave it luster and fame, especially through her celebrated parties and meetings. For many years the palace was a meeting place for the wealthy and political classes of the time, such as Cánovas del Castillo. In its halls national politics were so commonplace that once, leaving Cánovas this palace with a large representation of the Government, a reporter asked: "Mr. President, had there a been Council meeting?" The palace was demolished after the Spanish Civil War to make way for new forms of urbanism and in 1946, the building of the National Insurance Institute, later called the National Institute of Health, was built in its place.

Gallery

File:Alegoria de la musica palacio portugalete.jpg, Roof of a room of the Palacio del Marqués de Portugalete. Painted by

. Photo taken in 1871. File:View Puerta de Alcalá and Palacio de Portugalete.jpg, Aerial view of the Plaza de la Independencia and the Puerta de Alcalá, with the Palacio del Marqués de Portugalete bottom right. Photo: Juanjo for Urbanity (late-19th c.). File:Madrid moderno - Palacio del Marqués de Portugalete, en La Ilustración de Madrid.jpg, Palacio del Marqués de Portugalete, engraving from photograph of Jean Laurent, according to the index of the first page of the magazine La Ilustración de Madrid. File:Palacio del Marqués de Portugalete 1870.jpg, Palacio del Marqués de Portugalete. 1870 Drawing.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palacio del Marques de Portugalete Demolished buildings and structures in Madrid 1860s architecture Buildings and structures completed in the 19th century Renaissance Revival architecture in Spain Calle de Alcalá Former palaces in Spain Buildings and structures demolished in the 20th century 20th-century disestablishments in Spain Spanish nobility History of Madrid Architecture of Madrid