Albéniz palace is a palace built by Juan Moya in the first quarter of the twentieth century, located in the city of Barcelona, Spain. Today is the official residence of the king of Spain during their visits to the city.
Since its construction it has been adapted to their different roles, first as accommodation of the Royal Spanish Family during the Universal Exhibition in Barcelona in 1929 and, after it, as hosting famous people. It has now been established as the official residence of the Spanish Royal Family in their official stay in Catalonia. The palace is surrounded by the Gardens of Joan Maragall.
It was built for the aforementioned Universal Exhibition held in Barcelona in 1929. The royal family then had a Royal Palace in Pedralbes recently built, however, it was decided that the ideal was to have a residence within the fair boundaies; finally the project design was awarded to the architect of the Royal House, Juan Moya.
The official opening in the presence of King Alfonso XIII, Queen Victoria Eugenia, the Princesses and other authorities, took place on October 5 de1929. Once the exhibition finished it was decided to place there the Music Museum of Barcelona, but the project failed, anyway it was decided to name he palace: Albéniz. In the 30 was proposed by the Board of Museums, development and placement of a bust in honor of the musician, composer and Catalan pianist, the City Council gave its approval and from that moment is known to the Royal Pavilion at Montjuic as "Albéniz Palace". Such bust was sculpted by sculptors Enric Casanovas Barcelona and Mateu Fernández Soto.
Decades later, the demolition of two nearby halls, the "Palace of the Missions" and the "Palace of Modern Art", allowed to extend the gardens of the Mansion. Barcelona City Council subsequently decided to remodel and expand the palace, and awarded the project to the municipal architects Ros de Ramis, Antoni Lozoya and Ignasi Serra Goday. The work ended in 1970, including a new décor with Salvador Dali paintings that evoke the culture and the city.
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