The Palacio de los Reyes de Navarra is a historical building in Estella; it is the Romanesque former royal palace of the Kings and Queens of Navarre from the late 12th century to the mid-15th. In the twentieth century the building, which had fallen into disrepair, was restored and in 1991 converted into the Museo Gustavo de Maeztu, housing the work of the painter Gustavo de Maeztu y Whitney and open to the public. The building is important in the history of architecture in Navarre, since it is the only civil building extant from the Romanesque period.
The most significant element is the main facade, located opposite the stairway of San Pedro de la Rúa. It consists of two floors built in ashlar masonry, which are divided in height by a simple molded cornice. The lower body is a gallery of four arches framed by columns attached to the wall, decorated with capitals of vegetable and figurative type.
On the left side there are figures of stylized forms that narrate an episode of the Legend of Roland, specifically the scene of Roldan's fight against the giant Ferragut, trying to exemplify the struggle of good against evil. It is signed by Martinus of Logroño. On the right side, the decoration is formed by thin leaves of penca, Cistercian rooted.
The second floor has four large windows, each divided into its internal space by four slightly pointed arches that rest on fine encapsulated columns adorned with plant, animal and figurative decoration. Above them, a cornice with sculpted corbels. Here the original forms alternate with recent reconstructions, given that over time the structure was modified to adapt to the needs and diverse functions that it has had as a palace and as a prison for the judicial district.
It is closed on its sides by two semi-columns, with a decorative scheme on its different capitals. On the left is a capital with plant decoration, while on the right side you can see a set where scenes have been conceived related to the sin of pride, the punishment of hell and lust.
The third floor, work of the 18th century, is built in brick.
References:Rosenborg Palace was built in the period 1606-34 as Christian IV’s summerhouse just outside the ramparts of Copenhagen. Christian IV was very fond of the palace and often stayed at the castle when he resided in Copenhagen, and it was here that he died in 1648. After his death, the palace passed to his son King Frederik III, who together with his queen, Sophie Amalie, carried out several types of modernisation.
The last king who used the place as a residence was Frederik IV, and around 1720, Rosenborg was abandoned in favor of Frederiksborg Palace.Through the 1700s, considerable art treasures were collected at Rosenborg Castle, among other things items from the estates of deceased royalty and from Christiansborg after the fire there in 1794.
Soon the idea of a museum arose, and that was realised in 1833, which is The Royal Danish Collection’s official year of establishment.