Santa Cruz Palace in Viso del Marqués, Italian Renaissance in La Mancha

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Staircase of the Palace of Viso del Marqués in Ciudad Real

There are times that when making a trip you arrive at amazing places whose tourist attraction you had no prior knowledge, and that is what has happened to us during our recent route by car through the south of the province of Ciudad Real, in Castilla la Mancha.

And if there is a place that we have to stand out from others, that is undoubtedly the Santa Cruz Palace that you find in the small town of Viso of the Marquis located south of Valdepeñas and Santa Cruz de Mudela.

I will tell you that it is a palace with a lavish style decoration Italian Renaissance, one of the arguments that we find so attractive to travel to the Italian Tuscany.

Palace of Santa Cruz in Viso del Marqués in Ciudad Real

But after knowing thePalace of the Marquis of Santa Cruz, I can confirm that in the territory of La Mancha You can visit a large palace with this type of decoration.

The striking decoration of walls and ceiling that now will surprise you so much during your visit is Genoese style, and was made by master craftsmen of the school of Miguel Angel.

History palace Viso del Marqués

It is a building ordered to be built by Álvaro de Bazán in the second part of the 16th century, following the project of Giovanni Castello, The Bergamasco.

Therefore the history of this palace is linked to that of who was the first Marquis of Santa Cruz and prestigious Admiral of the Navy at the time of Philip II

Palace of Santa Cruz in Viso del Marqués in Ciudad Real

Note that Álvaro de Bazán he earned the reputation of winning all the battles in which he participated, as was that of Lepanto.

In 1569 he was named the first Marquis of Santa Cruz for him King Philip II and that is when he decided to build the palace in the place that at that time was an important crossroads, specifically in fullCamino Real between Castilla and Andalucía.

But the admiral died shortly before the Battle of Trafalgar and could not see his grand palace finished.

Throughout history the palace survived the attack of the English during the Spanish Succession War, at the beginning of the 18th century, although it suffered the consequences of Lisbon earthquake of 1755.

Palace of Santa Cruz in Viso del Marqués in Ciudad Real

Due to it, the four towers that fell in the corners of the building fell and a ceiling where the painted was painted Battle of Lepanto.

It was also razed by the French during the War of Independence, and subsequently had various functions as a school, jail or hospital.

Currently the Palace of Viso del Marqués still belongs to the family Álvaro de Bazán, who in 1950 yielded it to Ministry of the Navy to make it one of the headquarters of the naval museum and house the Navy Archive.

For this assignment each year the symbolic amount of a peseta is paid, whose ticket had the image of Álvaro de Bazán.

From this historic archive in the palace documents are preserved from 1784 until after the Civil war, which are ordered in up to 16 kilometers of shelves, and can be consulted by researchers.

Palace of Santa Cruz in Viso del Marqués in Ciudad Real

What to see in Marquis de Santa Cruz Palace

He Palace of the Marquis of Santa Cruz you find it in the main square of Viso of the Marquis Next to the church of the assumption, from the XV century.

It is a square-plan building whose rooms are located on two floors around a large central courtyard.

From the first moment, in the lower gallery, you can see the lavish paintings that occupy up to 8,000 square meters with representations of classical mythology and the battles in which he participated Álvaro de Bazán.

I anticipate that you will be impressed by the great decoration of the main staircase that shows representations of the history of Rome, the same thing that happened to Philip II that when he saw her, he asked for a similar one for the El Escorial monastery.

Palace of Santa Cruz in Viso del Marqués in Ciudad Real

Thus in the Palace of Viso del Marqués is the inspiration of the Grand staircase of the mentioned monastery, which was decorated by Italian painters who worked in the Manchego building.

Among the different rooms that you will travel you will also pass through a chapel decorated with stucco, which houses an urn with the remains of Álvaro de Bazán.

As a curiosity, add that, as is easy to assume, the Santa Cruz Palace It has been the scene of several films like The stunned king.

Santa Cruz Palace in Viso del Marqués in Ciudad Real

Viso del Marqués palace opening hours

The Visiting hours of the Palace of Viso del Marqués they are, from Tuesday to Friday, from 9 am to 1 pm and from 4 pm to 6 pm; on Saturdays the visits start at 10 am in the morning; and on Sundays, the visits are from 9.30 to 14 hours.

In July and August, visits are from Tuesday to Sunday, from 9 am to 2 pm.

Ticket prices Viso del Marqués

Is about Guided visits that come to be about 45 minutes long, and the price of admission It is a voluntary donation.

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