Patrimonio Nacional ( en, National Heritage) is a Spanish autonomous agency, under the jurisdiction of the

Ministry of the Presidency The Ministry of the Presidency, Relations with the Cortes and Democratic Memory (MPR) is the department of the Government of Spain which assures the link between the different Ministries and the Prime Minister and is responsible for the relations ...

, that administers the sites owned by the Spanish State and used by the

Monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...

and the

Spanish Royal Family The Spanish royal family consists of King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia, their children (Leonor, Princess of Asturias and Infanta Sofía of Spain), and Felipe's parents, King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía. The royal family lives at Zarzuela Palace i ...

as residences and for State Ceremonies. The Patrimonio Nacional includes

palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate both ...

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

and

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

s, called the Royal sites. When not in official use, the Royal sites are open to the public. It also manages the official and holiday residences of the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

. The agency was first created in 1865 during the reign of

Isabella 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 ...

under the name of ''Patrimonio de la Corona'' ( en, Heritage of the Crown. During the reign of her grandson,

Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alfo ...

, it was also known as ''Patrimonio Real'' ( en, Royal Heritage). The second republic (1931–1939) kept the agency under the name of ''Patrimonio de la República'' en, Heritage of the Republic and in 1940, dictator

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...

renamed it to ''Patrimonio National'', the current name. Patrimonio Nacional organizes temporary exhibitions and concerts in the Royal sites. It also publishes catalogues of the Royal Collections, books on the Royal sites, facsimiles of some of the books held in the library of

El Escorial El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial ( es, Monasterio y Sitio de El Escorial en Madrid), or Monasterio del Escorial (), is a historical residence of the King of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, u ...

and the Royal Library, visitors guides to the different sites as well as the official photographs of the

King of Spain , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...

. It also publishes a quarterly magazine, ''Reales Sitios'', about the art collections and cultural history of the Royal sites. The Royal Family has other palaces but these are not controlled by Patrimonio Nacional.

Royal Places

Royal Palaces

Royal Palace of Madrid The Royal Palace of Madrid ( es, Palacio Real de Madrid) is the official residence of the Spanish royal family at the city of Madrid, although now used only for state ceremonies. The palace has of floor space and contains 3,418 rooms. It is the ...

(

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

). * '' Casita del Príncipe or Casita de Abajo'' (

) * '' Casita del Príncipe'' (

El Pardo El Pardo is a ward (''barrio'') of Madrid belonging to the district of Fuencarral-El Pardo. As of 2008 its population was of 3,656. History The ward was first mentioned in 1405 and in 1950 was an autonomous municipality of the Community of Madrid ...

) * '' Casita del Infante'' (

San Lorenzo de El Escorial San Lorenzo de El Escorial, also known as El Escorial de Arriba, is a town and municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain, located to the northwest of the region in the southeastern side of the Sierra de Guadarrama, at the foot of Moun ...

). * Royal Palace of Zarzuela (Madrid) * Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial (San Lorenzo de El Escorial). *

Royal Palace of Aranjuez The Royal Palace of Aranjuez ( es, Palacio Real de Aranjuez) is one of the official residences of the Spanish royal family. It is located in the town of Aranjuez (Madrid), Spain. Established in the 16th century as a royal hunting lodge, the pal ...

and his royal gardens and buildings (

Aranjuez Aranjuez () is a city and municipality of Spain, part of the Community of Madrid. Located in the southern end of the region, the main urban nucleus lies on the left bank of Tagus, a bit upstream the discharge of the Jarama. , the municipality h ...

). * ''

Casa del Labrador The Casa del Labrador is a neoclassical palace in Aranjuez, Spain. The name means "house of the farm labourer", and was borrowed from an earlier building on the site, although the new building was intended for royal use. It was designed to compl ...

'' (Aranjuez). *

Royal Palace of El Pardo The Royal Palace of El Pardo ( es, Palacio Real de El Pardo, ) is one of the official residences of the Spanish royal family and one of the oldest, being used by the Spanish monarchs since Enrique III in the 15th century. It is administered by ...

(Madrid). *

Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso The Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso (Spanish: ''Palacio Real de La Granja de San Ildefonso''), known as La Granja, is an early 18th-century palace in the small town of San Ildefonso, located in the hills near Segovia and north of Madri ...

and all the royal buildings attached. (

Real Sitio de San Ildefonso San Ildefonso (), La Granja (), or La Granja de San Ildefonso, is a town and municipality in the Province of Segovia, in the Castile and León autonomous region of central Spain. It is located in the foothills of the Sierra de Guadarrama mount ...

). *

Royal Palace of Riofrío The Royal Palace of Riofrío ( es, Palacio Real de Riofrío, ) is one of the residences of Spanish royal family. It is under the management of ''Patrimonio Nacional'', a government agency dedicated to the care and maintenance of properties owned ...

(Real Sitio de San Ildefonso). *

Royal Palace of La Almudaina The Royal Palace of La Almudaina (, ) is one of the official residences of the Spanish royal family. Categorized as an Alcázar (fortified palace), it is located in Palma, the capital city of the Island of Mallorca, Spain. History This imposing ...

( Palma). * '' Residencia Real de La Mareta'' ( Teguise).

Royal convents and monasteries

* Royal Convent of Las Descalzas Reales (Madrid). *

Monastery of Yuste The Monastery of Yuste is a monastery in the small village now called Cuacos de Yuste (in older works ''San Yuste'' or ''San Just'') in the province of Cáceres in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. The monastery was founded by t ...

(

Cuacos de Yuste Cuacos de Yuste is a municipality in the province of Cáceres and autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. The municipality covers an area of and as of 2011 had a population of 902 people. It is best known for the Monastery of Yuste Th ...

). * Royal Monastery of the Incarnation (Madrid). * Royal Monastery of Santa Isabel (Madrid). *

Royal Convent of Santa Clara The Royal Convent of Santa Clara is a nunnery in Tordesillas, Spain. Founded by king Pedro of Castile in 1363, this convent of Poor Clares is now under the administration of Spain's national heritage organisation, the Patrimonio Nacional. It is ...

(

Tordesillas Tordesillas () is a town and municipality in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, central Spain. It is located southwest of the provincial capital, Valladolid at an elevation of . The population was c. 9,000 . The town is located ...

). *

Abbey of Santa Maria la Real de Huelgas An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

(

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of t ...

). * Royal Convent of San Pascual (Aranjuez). * '' Colegio de Doncellas Nobles'' ( Toledo). * Benedictine Abbey of Santa Cruz del Valle de los Caídos (San Lorenzo de El Escorial). *

Pantheon of Illustrious Men The Pantheon of Illustrious Men ( es, Panteón de Hombres Ilustres) is a royal site in Madrid, under the administration of the Patrimonio Nacional. It was designed by Spanish architect Fernando Arbós y Tremanti, and is located in Basilica of N ...

(Madrid)

Residences of the Prime Minister

Palace of Moncloa The Palace of Moncloa or Moncloa Palace ( es, Palacio de la Moncloa) is the official residence An official residence is the House, residence of a head of state, head of government, governor, Clergy, religious leader, leaders of international o ...

(Madrid) * Palace of Las Marismillas ( Almonte) * '' Coto Nacional de los Quintos de Mora'' (

Los Yébenes Los Yébenes is a municipality located in the province of Toledo, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. According to the 2006 census (INE INE, Ine or ine may refer to: Institutions * Institut für Nukleare Entsorgung, a German nuclear research center * ...

)

Museum

In addition to the exhibitions that ''Patrimonio Nacional'' carries out in the different Royal Sites, the agency will open a museum in 2023, the

Royal Collections Gallery The Royal Collections Gallery, originally named Royal Collections Museum () is an art museum in Madrid yet to be opened. Dependent on Patrimonio Nacional, it is located in a new building in the gardens of the Campo del Moro, Campo del Moro park nex ...

, destined to exhibit the heritage accumulated by the

Spanish Monarchy , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...

for centuries.

The Board

The National Heritage is managed by the Board of Directors of the agency which, according to Act 23/1982, is composed by a Chairperson and a Manager appointed by the

, with the advice of the

; and thirteen members of renowned reputation, including two city councilors of towns where properties of Patrimonio Nacional are located (currently the cities of

and Palma) and two members from museums and cultural institutions of recognized prestige and international projection.

Structure

The agency is structured through a central and a decentralized one: The central structure is integrated by: * The Administration and Resources Directorate. * The Royal Collections Directorate. * The Real Estate and Natural Environment Directorate. * The Official and Cultural Events Directorate. The territorial or decentralized structure is integrated by the Board' delegations in palaces, monasteries and other properties and organizations.

References

External links

Official webpage
{{Authority control Spanish monarchy Government agencies of Spain 1865 establishments in Spain