FITUR 2023 introduces the Royal Collections Gallery as a new tourism and cultural hotspot in Spain

The Royal Collections Gallery was introduced this morning at FITUR 2023 as a new tourism and cultural hotspot in Spain. The President of Patrimonio Nacional, Ana de la Cueva, presented the project at an event held at the Turespaña stand , which was attended by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto; the Director of the Royal Collections, Leticia Ruiz; the architect of the building, Emilio Tuñón; and the designers of the project’s brand identity, Manuel Estrada and Fernando Beltrán.

The Gallery will open its doors this summer and become a powerful focal point of culture and tourism for the capital. "It is the most important project of the last decades in the museum sector in our country," stated Ana de la Cueva. "It will boost economic activity," he added. Industry professionals estimate that the Royal Collections Gallery will result in an additional night’s stay in the city.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, has highlighted the post-pandemic recovery trend of the tourism market, and has assured audiences that "the Gallery shall make Madrid and Spain the largest museum in the world". Maroto congratulated the Patrimonio Nacional team for the project and, especially its President, Ana de la Cueva, for the "passion with which she has approached this final part of the project". The Gallery, she concluded, "is a dream that we are going to see come true this year".

A unique building for unique collections

The Director of the Royal Collections and of the Gallery itself, Leticia Ruiz, stressed that the Gallery “does not seek to be a summary of all the Palaces, Monasteries and natural spaces managed by Patrimonio Nacional, rather it is  a comprehensive showcase of the complex cultural reality of one of the most important institutions  of Europe”.

The architect responsible for its construction and winner of the 2022 National Architecture Award, Emilio Tuñón, drew attention to the similarity between the avant-garde lines of the building and the 18th-century sketches drawn up by Sacchetti when building the Royal Palace. According to Tuñón, “the Gallery completes this urban still life on the western cornice of Madrid and acts as a retaining wall for the city and its history”.

The Gallery’s brand identity

The event was also attended by Fernando Beltrán, the museum’s “namegiver”. "My job has been none other than to find the correct name for the project, as Plato puts it". Beltrán explained that the concept is understood when one enters the building. And he has added a further nuance: "Initially, the word "gallery" referred to a portico and it really is one, because it admits visitors into the history of art".

The designer and 2017 National Design Award winner, Manuel Estrada, presented the logo, a lowercase "g" open at the top with a crown that is "functional rather than majestic". The underlying ideas are that of an open gallery in continuous transformation and of a crown that "belongs not only to the institution but to all citizens".

A window into the Royal Sites

The inaugural exhibition of the Gallery consists of 650 items. The tour allows visitors to discover the variety and quality of the pieces in the Royal Collections: paintings, decorative arts, historical photography, textiles, carriages that that bear the hallmark of masters such as Velázquez, Goya, Caravaggio and El Greco. All of this in a building that has already received ten architectural awards and is located in the heart of Madrid.

The Royal Collections Gallery will also be a window into Patrimonio Nacional, enabling visitors to learn about the Royal Sites that it manages in six autonomous communities. It will also raise awareness of the Institution’s work in terms of conservation, restoration and dissemination of this legacy that is the sum of five centuries.

New tourist attraction

Also within the framework of FITUR, National Heritage and the Community of Madrid have this morning signed a collaboration protocol to promote the opening of the Royal Collections Gallery as a tourist attraction. This museum joins the monument complex of the Royal Palace of Madrid and is located in the heart of the capital.

Both institutions are committed to working together to promote the Royal Collections Gallery in both national and international markets as one of the main cultural tourism destinations in the region.