The Prado Museum reopens after extension
7th November 2007
It has been a busy week at one of Spain's most prestigious museums - the Prado in Madrid - after the opening of a new wing at the end of last month.
A need for more space at the museum led to a €152 million (£106 million), state-of-the-art extension project commencing in 2002. The new wing was opened last week by King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia in a prestigious ceremony.
Designed by Spanish architect Rafael Moneo, the new section incorporates a 15th century cloister while adding 50 per cent more light and space. The museum will utilise this added capacity to display 400 works for which it previously had no room, including 100 works by Spanish artists of the 19th century.
Prado's deputy director Gabriele Finaldi told AFP: "It is the most important extension the Prado has ever had. It adds about half as much space as the museum had before."
News of the reopening - and five days offree entrance - has seemingly captured the imagination of the Spanish public. Typically Spanish reported that more than 100,000 people visited the museum between last Wednesday and Sunday, while queues lasted for three hours during the weekend.
Visitors to the Prado are able to view such masterpieces as Fra Angelico's The Annunciation, Hieronymous Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delights and Rubens' The Three Graces.
Head to the museum during a city break in Madrid.
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