(By Kaunokainen, Flickr ID)
Grand Piano(Original Picture by Jorge Louzao Penalva)
Stradivarius Cello(By Terence Wei)
Stradivarius Violin(By Giant Ginkgo, Flickr ID)
El Palacio Real de Madrid, located in Madrid the capital city and once the residence of the King of Spain, is notable for its royal art collections and its immense scale. The current building was constructed between 1738 to 1755 by the orders of Philip V of Spain, and Italian architects Filippo Juvarra, Giovanni Battista Sacchetti, and Francesco Sabatini were mainly responsible for its Baroque design.
Antonio Stradivari, an Italian luthier who was born in 1644 and died in 1737, arguably crafted the most beautifully sounding string instruments of all time, and an instrument by him is known as a "Stradivarius."
The royal collections of the palace include the World's only complete set of Stradivarius instruments, which consists of two violins, a viola, and two cellos (One of the two cellos, pictured above, is an extra guarded by the palace, dated around 1700). This collection is named as "del Cuarteto Real" (meaning the Royal Quartet), or "los Stradivarius Palatinos." These rare instruments were acquired by Charles (Carlos) IV of Spain in 1775.
The grand piano shown is also a part of the palace's royal collection, but sadly I could not find much more about it other than that it was probably manufactured by Collard & Collard of London. It certainly is very beautiful, worthy of royalty.
I would love to try one of these priceless instruments.
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