Casón del Buen Retiro was built by Alonso Carbonell in 1637 and was originally designed as a ballroom for Felipe IV’s court. This is one of the two buildings that survived the destruction of Palacio del Buen Retiro, and as a consequence, it remained as an independent structure.
©M. Martin Vicente
The Neapolitan painter Luca Giordano worked for the decoration of this building and painted Alegoría del Toisón de Oro in the vault of the edifice, which is one of the few original items that remained from the building. This artistic wall was restored by Germán Hernández and José Garnelo in the 19th century. During that period, after the destruction of Buen Retiro, the Casón was reconstructed and expanded, and some Neoclassic façades, designed by Mariano Carderera and Ricardo Velázquez Bosco, were added.
During the 20th century, the Casón was used for several ends and then, in 1971, it was transferred to Museo del Prado in order to host a collection of paintings of the 19th century.
Nowadays, Casón del Buen Retiro is part of Museo del Prado and offers its visitors interesting expositions.
Address
Calle de Alfonso XII, 28, 28014 Madrid, Spain.
Getting there
By bus
10, 14, 19, 27, 43, 37 and 45.
By subway
Line 2, Retiro stop.
Opening hours
Mondays to Thursdays from 9:00am to 3:00pm.
Fridays from 9:00am to 2:30pm.
Mondays to Wednesdays from 3:00pm to 6:00pm.
Summer schedule (from June the 16th to September the 15th)
Mondays to Fridays from 9:00am to 2:30pm.
