Main Hall by Photo: Félix LorrioSpanish Railways Foundation
The Palace of Fernán Núñez still maintains the luxury and decoration characteristic of the Isabelline period, and its visitors are captivated by its beauty, elegance, and admirable preservation, as they discover the events of each room through the different chapters in its history. Come on a journey through the palace's rooms.
Main Staircase Handrail by Photo: Agustín Ruiz MorillaSpanish Railways Foundation
The palatial steps of this main staircase were made from stone from Colmenar de Oreja (Madrid). The pilasters and modillions on the roof are the work of the architect Valentín Roca Carbonell.
Estuccos Room by Photo: Vicente SuárezSpanish Railways Foundation
The Stucco Room boasts impressive marbled stucco on the walls, imitating pink marble.
Column Hall by Photo: Federico PérezSpanish Railways Foundation
This classical room includes notable Empire-style furnishings, as well as a 17th-century French painting representing Jacob and Rachel with their flocks, belonging to the Prado Museum (Museo Nacional del Prado).
Renfe's President Gala Room by Photo: Sandra María MartínSpanish Railways Foundation
The Formal Room of the president of Renfe still has its alpine marble from the remodeling carried out in 1923, as well as a Venetian crystal lamp made from elegant translucent glass.
The room invites its visitors to marvel at its Empire-style furnishings, and at the painting Dance on the Banks of the Manzanares (El Baile a Orillas de Manzanares), a copy of the tapestry cartoon by Goya, painted by Aurelio Sanz in the 19th century.
Portraits Room current view by Photo: Agustín Ruiz MorillaSpanish Railways Foundation
The presidents of Renfe during the period 1941–1978 take center stage in the Portrait Room, along with the spectacular Venetian crystal lamp, made in Murano, and the Guinean mahogany table.
The room still has its original doors, door frames, and lintels, with magnificent carvings of plant and heraldry motifs on a sheet of walnut.
A detail of the Walnut Staircase by Antonio Jorge Rojo. Photo: Sandra María MartínSpanish Railways Foundation
Above the magnificent walnut staircase, a spectacular lamp hangs from the ceiling, made from La Granja glass, and bronze from the Officials Room in Atocha station.
Pink Room and Walnut Staircase by Photo: Félix LorrioSpanish Railways Foundation
The Pink Room includes the 18th-century tapestry cartoon Children Playing at Bullfighting (Niños Jugando al Toro) by Ramón Bayeu Subías, property of the Prado Museum.
There are also two mirrors in wooden frames carved with allegorical representations of victory (laurel leaf) and strength (holm oak branches).
Yellow Room, former Music RoomSpanish Railways Foundation
The former Music Hall (Yellow Room) contains an upright piano from Casa Montano, dating from 1862, which belonged to Queen Isabella II. Significant items here include the Empire-style furnishings and the painting The Kite (La Cometa), a copy of a tapestry cartoon by Goya, painted by Aurelio Sanz in the 19th century.
Elisabethan Room by Photo: Félix LorrioSpanish Railways Foundation
The Isabelline Room maintains all of its original decoration and furnishings. The comfortable and functional furnishings are in Isabelline style, made from carved wood and water gilded.
The rug was made at the Royal Tapestry Factory, signed by Livinio Stuyck in 1861.
Children's Dinning Room by Photo: Sandra María MartínSpanish Railways Foundation
The Children's Dining Room, or Everyday Dining Room, is an oak-paneled room decorated with tapestries based on cartoons by Goya, and made at the Royal Tapestry Factory between 1890 and 1892.
The ceiling stuccoes, borders, and side panels, decorated with plant and pheasant motifs imitating wood, denote wonderful artistry.
Gala Dinning Room current view by Photo: Félix LorrioSpanish Railways Foundation
The Formal Dining Room features a white Carrara marble chimney in a renaissance style. On the right is a kitchen table of a style that was very fashionable in the 19th century, used to carve meat.
Ball Room current view by Photo: Félix LorrioSpanish Railways Foundation
At eight meters high, and with theatrical rococo decoration inspired by the French Palace of Versailles, the Dance Hall was the palace's main reception room.
The floor in hardwood marquetry, and Isabelline-style furnishings, complete this unique space.
Red Room by Photo: Félix LorrioSpanish Railways Foundation
In the Red Room, standout pieces include the rug from the Royal Tapestry Factory, signed by Livinio Stuyck in 1861, and the clock from Isabella II's royal coach at the inauguration of the railway from Madrid to Aranjuez (1851).
Logia by Photo: Félix LorrioSpanish Railways Foundation
La Logia, a room characterized by its opulent Nolla mosaic, one of the most exclusive floorings, and by its modernist enclosure, the work of architect Valentín Roca Carbonell.
Ball Room current view by Photo: Félix LorrioSpanish Railways Foundation
Want to know more?
Continue reading about the history of this building in the following exhibitions:
- The Palace of Fernán Núñez: Origin and Splendor
Coordination: Communication and Cultural Activity Management (FFE) / Texts, documentation, and image selection: Inmaculada García Lozano (FFE) / Digital edition: José Mariano Rodríguez (FFE)
Acknowledgement
Ana Costa Novillo. Madrid City Council. Museum of History/María Luisa Crespo Rodríguez. Madrid City Council. Department of Culture, Tourism, and Sports Governance. Town Archive/Isabel Argerich and Carlos Teixidor. Photograph collection of the Institute of Cultural Heritage of Spain. Ministry of Culture and Sports/Susana Romero Martín. Center for Historical Memory Documentation, Salamanca. Ministry of Culture and Sports/Leticia Martínez García. Historical Archive of the Railways (FFE)/Volunteers (FFE): Luisa Atienza Calvo, Pablo García Lumbreras, and Gustavo Martínez Guibelalde.
