Liria Palace

Located on Princesa Street, the Liria Palace is a grand 18th-century building, the Madrid residence of the House of Alba and the main home of its art collection and historical archive, both of extraordinary value. Among those involved in its design and construction were the Frenchman Louis Guilbert and Ventura Rodríguez. Don't miss the guided tour! Also known as "the younger brother of the Royal Palace," the Liria Palace is one of the most important surviving civil buildings of its era in the heart of Madrid. The palace's floor plan is an unusually long rectangle, unlike the typical Spanish palaces, which are more square and often feature courtyards. The artistic and historical treasures housed in the Liria Palace are astonishing, especially considering it is a private collection. Among the most outstanding pieces is a gallery of portraits of the successive dukes, painted by masters such as Christoph Amberger, Titian, Louis-Michel van Loo, Mengs, Goya, Federico de Madrazo, Joaquín Sorolla, and Daniel Vázquez Díaz. Particularly celebrated are Titian's Portrait of the Grand Duke of Alba and Goya's The Duchess Cayetana in a White Dress. The art gallery also includes important Italian works, such as Francesco Furini's Allegory of Truth, Andrea Vaccaro's The Expulsion from Paradise, and examples by Elisabetta Sirani, Carlo Maratta, Francesco Guardi, and Giovanni Pannini. Since February 2024, the palace's former stables have housed a new Contemporary Art gallery, which hosts temporary exhibitions.