The Infantado Palace

The Infantado Palace. (Guadalajara, Guadalajara) The Palacio del Infantado is the monument par excellence of the capital of Guadalajara, and houses the Provincial Museum of Guadalajara .

Declared a monument in 1914, it is the work of Juan Guas, assisted by Enrique Egas in the design and carvings of the decoration and seconded by Lorenzo de Trillo. It was built on the orders of the second Duque del Infantado, don Íñigo López de Mendoza. Its façade is one of the best amongst Spanish renaissance palaces. It has large sealed facings covered with a decoration of rhomboidal diamond points. The entrance door has a pointed Gothic arch crowned by the arms of the Mendoza family, supported by two fauns or hairy savages. The upper part has an open gallery. The interior houses the Courtyard of the Lions, on two levels with arches on twisted shaft columns on the upper floor and smooth on the lower. Over the arches there is an abundant decoration with fantastic animals (lions and griffons) escorting symbols, the coats of arms of the Mendoza y Luna family and phrases recalling the greatness of the architects that built it. All the decoration is Elizabethan Gothic, like the magnificent latticework on ante-ceiling of the second floor, Public Library and Arts Centre, of the Provincial Museum (Fine Arts and Ethnography Section) and the Provincial Historic Archive. The historic-artistic heritage of the museum is divided into three sections: Fine Arts, Ethnography and Archaeology. Most notable amongst its collection are some fifty paintings of the Flemish-Hispanic school, the tomb of doña Aldonza de Mendoza (15th century) and canvases by artists such as Alonso Cano, Carreño de Miranda and Alonso del Arco.

Contact address for The Infantado Palace. Plaza de los Caídos, 13 Guadalajara (Guadalajara) Phone: 949 213 301 / 949 227 446 Email: [email protected]

Type of monument Civil Architecture

History At the end of the 16th century it went through various alterations at the hands of the fifth Duke, who raised the level of the courtyard, changed the Gothic windows for balconies and has the roofs of the lower rooms painted (for example the Atalanta room, decorated by the Italian painter Rómulo Cincinato, between 1578-80). This is the reason why the palace manifests amixture of styles, the Gothic-Elizabethan and the Renaissance Manierist. In the 19th century it passed into State ownership and during the Civil War suffered considerable losses, such as the Mudejar coffered ceilings, but the restoration work has been excellently carried out and is constantly being improved.

Period End of the 15th century.

Fees Entry free.