Royal destinations: Palacio de Zurbano

Queen Fabiola of Belgium was born  Doña Fabiola Fernanda María-de- las-Victoria Antonia Adelaida de Mora y Aragón on 11 June 1928 at the Palacio de Zurbano in Madrid. She was a daughter of Gonzalo de Mora y Fernández y Riera y del Olmo, Marqués de Casa Riera and Blanca de Aragón y Carrillo de Albornoz y Barroeta-Aldamar y Elío.

Her birthplace was thus the lovely Palacio de Zurbano in Madrid. This  year I finally had the chance to see this amazing palace.

The History of Palacio de Zurbano

The Palacio de Zurbano was built by Severiano Sainz de la Lastra —architect, together with Eduardo Adaro, of the Bank of Spain building— in 1878 for Fermín de Muguiro y Azcárate, I Count of Muguiro (Olite, Navarra, July 7, 1831 -Madrid, 15 July 1892).

The heirs of Ángela Beruete, widow of Fermín Muguiro, sold the property in 1919 for 750,000 pesetas to Gonzalo de Mora y Fernández, Count of Mora and Marquis of Casa Riera.  Between 1915 and 1920 a second extension was carried out by Eladio Laredo, by which its surface was doubled at the expense of the garden and a terrace supported by four classical columns was added as a porte-cochère (covered entrance gate). It remained in the hands of the family until it was sold to the State in 1986.

Between 1995 and 1996 a great restoration was carried out after which the Center for Historical Studies of Public Works and Urbanism was installed. It was briefly used by the Consortium of Madrid, European Capital of Culture. It belongs directly to the Ministry of Public Works, as stated on the plaque at the doors of the building, and is used for acts of representation and protocol.

Style

The Palacio de Zurbano had a classical, rather sober style, conceived more as a hotel than a palace, it has a cubic corner shape. In the past, the entrance to it was through an iron and glass canopy open to the garden through a gate and four granite pilasters. The structure is made of riveted iron and with a load-bearing wall made of solid brick with the use of granite in lintels and baseboards. 

Each floor has a different interior: on the ground floor there is the hall, the staircase, the dining room and the dance room. On the two upper floors are the private rooms and those for servants.

After the restoration, the paintings by Arturo Mélida were recovered, which were covered by the later decoration, from the Salón de los Continentes, the Salón de las Abejas and the Salón de la Rotonda, in the original part, and the paintings by Manuel de Azpiroz in the new part.

The garden before the reform of the 1920s had a stove (greenhouse) with a metal and glass structure It was much larger and had a pavilion for stables, a stable, a cellar and a chicken coop. After the first reform its extension was considerably reduced and its use became merely ornamental and a complement
to the palace as an official building. A fountain in the center.

Notes from the author

I was very keen to see the birth place of Queen Fabiola and it didn't disappoint me. 

In one way or another I thought the palace matched with the image I had of Queen Fabiola of Belgium.

Source picture: Wikipedia

She always had been very stylish but als had a strict, sober image (although  she had some lovely jewelry).

Source pictures Palace: Own pictures taken in 2022