Palacio+Real

=Palacio Real=

Palacio Real (The Royal Palace) of Madrid was built on the site of the old Alcázar when construction started in 1738. It was built by the Italian architect Juan Bautista Sachetti to replace the fortress that burned down. Originally it was built to please King Philip V who wanted the palace to look like the Versailles Palace near Paris where he spent most of his youth but it took years to even begin building the palace. The Royal Palace, whic is the largest palace in Europe and is the official residence of the King of Spain, is only used for state ceremonies.

The Campo del Moro gardens at the palace was named after an attempted reconquest of Madrid when the troops of the Muslim leader Ali ben Yusuf in 1109. On the ground floor there is a Royal Pharmacy to order the supplies for the royal family. The ground floor also includes it's own royal library and royal armory.

In 1734 on Christmas Eve, a fire started in one of the rooms of the former Alcazar - the room of the French painter Jean Ranc. The fire wasn't detected, and it caused the warning bells to be confused with a call for mass. Some paintings were saved from the fire by being thrown out of windows, but many were lost. The remainder of the walls were demolished in 1738.

Today, the Palacio Real contains several important historical artifacts including Royal armor and weapons dating back until the 13th century, and it is the home of the only Stradivarius string quintet.. It's open to the public and is still used by the King every now and then. The Palacio Real has 2,000 lavishly decorated rooms in which 50 of them can be visited for a small fee.