This is the visit to the palace of the Marquis of Santa Cruz (Ciudad Real): schedules

There are times when taking a trip you arrive at surprising places whose tourist attractions you had no prior knowledge of.

That is what has happened to us during our recent car route through the south of the province of Ciudad Real, a Castilla la Mancha.

And if there is one place that we have to highlight above the others, it is, without a doubt, the palace of the Marquis of Santa Cruz a palace with a lavish style decoration Italian Renaissance.

Where is the Viso del Marqués palace

This surprising corner is located in the small town of Viso of the Marquis located south of Valdepeñas y Holy Cross of Mudela.

The lavish Italian Renaissance style decoration is one of the reasons that we find so attractive when traveling to the Italian Tuscany.

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

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

Curiosities of the history of the palace of the Marquis of Santa Cruz

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

Who was Álvaro de Bazán, Marquis of Santa Cruz

Therefore, the history of this palace is linked to that of whoever was the primer Marquis of Santa Cruz and prestigious Navy Admiral at the time of Felipe II.

To emphasize that Alvaro de Bazan He earned the fame of winning all the battles in which he participated, such as that of Lepanto.

In 1569 he was named the first Marquis of Santa Cruz by 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 the heart of Camino Real between Castile and Andalusia.

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

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

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

It was also destroyed by the French during the War of Independence, and later had various functions as a school, prison or hospital.

At present, the Viso del Marquis palace still belongs to the family Alvaro de Bazan, who in 1950 gave it to the Ministry of the Navy to convert it into one of the headquarters of the Naval museum and host the Navy Archive.

For this transfer each year the symbolic amount of one peseta is paid, the bill of which had the image of Alvaro de Bazan.

Of this historical naval archive Documents are preserved in the palace from 1784 until after the Civil war.

The volume of documents is such that they are arranged in up to 16 kilometers of shelves, and can be consulted by researchers.

What to see on a visit to the Viso del Marqués Palace (our experience)

El palace of the Marquis of Santa Cruz You find it in the main square of Viso of the Marquis next to Church of the Assumption, from the 15th century.

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

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. Alvaro de Bazan.

I can tell you that you will be impressed by the great decoration of the main staircase showing representations of the history of Rome.

When you see it, you won't be surprised that the same thing happened to Felipe II, who when he saw it asked for a similar one for him El Escorial Monastery.

In this way, in the Viso del Marquis palace the inspiration of the grand staircase of the aforementioned monastery, which was decorated by Italian painters who worked on the La Mancha building.

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

As a curiosity, add that, as is easy to suppose, the Santa Cruz palace It has been the setting for several films such as The stunned king.

Visiting hours for the palace of the Marquis of Santa Cruz in Viso del Marqués

Los Visiting hours of the Viso del Marqués palace They are, from Tuesday to Sunday, with guided tours in the morning and afternoon, with variable schedules depending on the time of year.

Therefore, it is advisable, in advance of your visit, check the schedules to make the relevant reservation.

Viso del Marqués palace ticket prices

Is guided tours which come to be about 45 minutes long, and the price of admission It is a voluntary donation of 3 euros.

Map: where Viso del Marqués is and how to get there

Viso of the Marquis It is 40 kilometers away, half an hour by car, south of Valdepeñas, In Ciudad Real province in Castilla-La Mancha.