At the entrance to the Casa de Campo from the Puerta del Río there is a small palace that has been closed to the public for two decades and is now preparing to re-emerge as a great botanical and heritage reference of the capital. The Real Casa de Campo de Felipe II or Casa de los Vargas will open its doors in 2027. As announced by the delegate of Culture, Tourism and Sport, Rivera de la Cruz, its more than 10,000 square meters of gardens designed in the sixteenth century, originally by Juan Bautista de Toledo, will be revitalized following the current criteria of sustainability and conservation.
The restoration, promoted by the City Council and financed in part with European funds from the Tourism Sustainability Plan (10 million euros), will make it possible to once again enjoy a garden with nearly 25,000 plants, including 155 new trees, including hardwoods, perennials and fruit trees, a collection of 120 rose bushes and more than 700 shrubs. The landscape design recalls the tradition of Renaissance court gardens, with geometric flowerbeds, aromatic species, orange trees and espaliered fruit trees, recovering the splendor that fascinated the court of the Habsburgs and later monarchs.
A small palace in the Casa de Campo
Next to the palace, the unique Galería de las Burlas, a Renaissance grotto equipped with water games, jets and ornamental fountains that surprised guests with ingenious hydraulic pranks, will also be recovered. The environment will be completed with paths, rest areas and spaces for historical interpretation, since the Royal Country House is a Site of Cultural Interest and one of the founding points of the current Casa de Campo.
The secret garden witnessed much of the history of Madrid, since it emerged as a retreat of Philip II after the purchase of the land in the sixteenth century and, after centuries of extensions and renovations by architects such as Sabatini, suffered a slow decline until 2008 was closed and forgotten by the administrative use. Its opening will therefore be one of the most important heritage actions of recent years.