

The neoclassical building in which the museum is hosted was designed by the architect Juan de Villanuevain1785, and was ordered by Charles III. At the beginning it was meant as the seat of the natural history office but the death of Charles III first, and the war of independence between 1808 and 1814 later, caused for two times the interruption of the works, which only re-started in 1819, when Ferdinand VII chose it as the seat of theRoyal museum of painting and Sculpture, turned into the Museum Nacional del Prado and brought here a collection of 1500 pieces.
The visit of the museum starts with theRomanic art,continues with the Spanish art of the 15th century, and ends with the Italian Renaissance, with artists like Beato Angelico, Botticelli, Mantegna, a series of paintings byRaffaello, and some works by Tintoretto and Tiziano; But the heart of the museum is located on the first floor, in the central section. This area is exclusively dedicated to Velasquez (with the famous painting of Las Meninas) and to Goya, a painter of the court of Charles IV, author of various portraits of the king, as well as some famous paintings like the La Maya desnuda and La Maya Vestida both situated in hall 21.
Useful info:
Address: Paseo del Prado
Tel. 0034.91.3302800
Price: 3/6 euro
Opening time: closed on Mondays; Tuesday to Sunday from 9 am to 20 pm.
www.museodelprado.es
Underground station: banco de Espana e Atocha
Bus: lines 9,10,14,19,27,34,37,45
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Places not to miss in Madrid:
» Plaza Monumental de las Ventas
» Convent of San Idelfonso de Trinitarias Descalzas
» Iglesia Colegiata de San Isidro
» Sociedad general de Autores a Madrid