After his trip through Spain, Andrea Navagiero stated that in Valladolid the palace of Benavente, recently built, stood out "above the rest". He was referring to the palace that the 1st Duke of Benavente, Rodrigo Alfonso Pimentel, acquired for 240 thousand maravedís in 1475 (García Chico, 1946; Rucquoi, 1987). The construction of the palace began in 1516 and was not without controversy. The population feared that a fortress was being built, so the work was halted. After a thorough investigation, the corregidor asked the count not to build towers or cubes in order to avoid the defensive aspect (Urrea, 1996). It is not known who the architect of the complex was, although numerous hypotheses have been put forward: Agapito y Revilla considered that the architect was Felipe de Borgoña; García thought that it was the work of Juan de Torollo; finally, Vasallo was in favor of Master Martín de Bruselas (Vasallo, 1994).
The palace stood as one of the most grandiose constructions of all those built in Valladolid in the 16th century. Its dimensions, as well as the absence of ornamentation on the exterior, increased its sense of severity (Urrea, 1996). In spite of the guidelines given by the corregidor, towers were finally built on the corners and galleries were opened. Inside, general courts were held and prominent personalities such as Philip II, Philip III and Margaret of Austria were housed (Urrea, 1996). It also housed one of the most important pictorial and sculptural collections of the time: Cambiaso, El Greco, Bosch, Titian, Rubens and Caravaggio, among others, adorned the walls of the palace.
It was owned by the Counts of Benavente until 1799. It was later acquired by the Ministry of War and transformed into a hospice (Palomares, 1975). Today the building has been restored and has become the headquarters of the city's Public Library.
Bibliography
GARCÍA CHICO, Esteban (1946): "El palacio del conde de Benavente", vol. XVIII, en Boletín de la Real Academia de la Purísima Concepción de Valladolid, pp. 13-30.
PALOMARES, Jesús María (1975): La asistencia social en Valladolid. El hospicio de pobres y la Real Casa de Misericordia (1724-1847), Servicio de Publicaciones de la Diputación Provincial, Valladolid, p. 136.
RUCQUOI, Adeline (1987): Valladolid en la Edad Media, nº I, Junta de Castilla y León, Consejería de Educación y Cultura, Valladolid, p. 58.
URREA, Jesús (1996): Arquitectura y nobleza. Casas y palacios de Valladolid, Ayuntamiento de Valladolid, Valladolid, pp. 41-45.
VASALLO TORANZO, Luis (1994): "El arquitecto Maestre Martín", nº I, en El arte español en épocas de transición, Universidad de León, León, p. 50.