The Canto del Pico Palace was ordered to be built in 1920 by the Earl of Las Almenas and was declared a monument of artistic and historical importance by King Alfonso XIII of Spain in 1930.

It is situated at the highest point of the municipality of Torrelodones on a granite mass from where you can pinpoint 34 towns in the province. The city of Madrid which extends across the skyline is particularly outstanding. On the death of the Earl of Las Almenas, and as a result of a 1937 holographic will, the palace became the property of General Francisco Franco, who had it for thirty five years. He enjoyed visiting the palace at weekends and would get there via a direct road which was linked to his official residence in the Pardo Palace.

The Canto del Pico Palace is situated in the northwestern part of Madrid and was the personal project of José María del Palacio y Abárzuza, Earl of Las Almenas. Building work was carried out by local master masons from 1920 until 1922.

It is rumoured that the aristocrat chose the location for medical reasons, as it was believed that the property had strong concentrations of ultraviolet rays, which were supposedly extremely beneficial for the health. The palace has seen a lot of famous historical personalities walk through its halls. The statesman Antonio Maura (1853-1925), who lived in a nearby mansion, known as El Pendolero, died at the palace during one of his visits. He collapsed suddenly while he was descending a flight of stairs inside the palace. A commemorative plaque marking the spot was put up in his memory. (It reads: Descending these stairs Mr Antonio Maura ascended to heaven.) During the Spanish Civil War, the Canto del Pico was headquarters for the Republican Military Command, and served as barracks for Indalecio Prieto (1883-1962) and for General Miaja (1878-1958), both whom directed the Battle of Brunete from there.

After the war, the Earl of Las Almenas gave the land and the palace to Francisco Franco Bahamonde (1892-1975). He used it as a safe-house when, the regime’s intelligence services warned of threats to his life. He also went to the property for leisure, and was known to have a farm there with sheep, chickens and bee hives.

After Franco’s death, the property passed down to his family.

The building Canto del Pico, translated as “Song from the Beak” was so-named because it stands close to a granite rock which resembles the beak of a bird. The mountain on which it stands also goes by the same name.

The palace does not have any particular architectural style, although there are certain modernist touches. It was constructed as a home-museum, to preserve the Earl’s collection of artistic and archaeological treasures many of which were integrated into the structure.

The building housed architectural and decorative elements representing Spanish art of the 12th to17th centuries. Among them, noteworthy columns and Gothic capitals, from the Castle of Curiel, original doors from the Convent of Salesas, ceilings of highly detailed carpentry from Curiel de Duero, Toledo and Teruel and different ornamental motifs from the Collegiate Church of Logroño and the Seo de Urgel.

The Canto del Pico Palace, 3,000 metres squared, was built on three floors, above a granite boulder which had to be blown up to make room for the bottom floor. It was constructed in granite masonry while frames, cornices, ceilings and the roof were made from wood and curved tiles, today replaced by slate. Its facade opens onto the picturesque scenery which surrounds it with balconies and look-out sites. On the right in true Flamenco style, a large metallic crown, details which are repeated in the entrance, over the main door and in the west wing.

As if this was not already a unique eclectic collection, its walls also hold a number of important pieces of Spanish heritage that the Earl sought and displayed on his property. We have to highlight the balconies, gothic figures, like that of the Virgin Mary, a window from the Cathedral of Palencia, stone railings and balustrades, Romanesque arches, gothic windows, important shields, battlements, machicolations, and a number of columns among others. If the exterior is an amalgamation of diverse elements with no order of style, the interior, corresponds to a type of decoration which prevailed at the turn of the century in certain cultural circles of Spain.The hallway is a clear declaration of intent. A row of octagonal columns, presumably from the Castle of Curiel, stand on a floor of polished rock, large oval arches prevail and simple paneling throughout, although the main floor lounge is without a doubt, along with the chapel, the most outstanding feature. You reach it ascending some stairs decorated with antique Talaverian tiles and more modern ones by Ruiz de Luna, which lead to the lobby with a fireplace and an impressive polychrome wooden lintel.

From here we reach the main hall, which has sixteen columns supporting ten lowered Corinthian arches of great interest along the edge, apparently from Lleida from the XVI century.

The chapel, two stories high with a square floor, is covered in oval arches, again in polychrome, and the finishing touch is a large Gothic multi-foil arch and two windows in the same style.

The rest of the rooms are similarly decorated, like the library which has a Gothic chimney and four columns from Toledo of the same style, or the coffered ceilings in the dining room.

All come together to create an interesting tiled home.

The palace is situated 1.011 metres above sea level, on the highest point of the municipality of Torrelodones. It crowns the summit of a granite mountain, geologically belonging to the Sierra del Hoyo, a mountainous island in the Sierra de Guadarrama.

It stands in the centre of an estate of 100 hectares and has a perimetre of 9 kilometres, full of trees and shrubs characteristic of the Mediterranean vegetation, among which stand out the holm oak and the alcornoque. The location displays a fairly ragged relief with the creak of la Torre on its west side which is an affluent of the river Guadarrama. The estate is accessible from the northwest motorway (A-6 Madrid-La Coruña) at exit point 29, from where you access the M-618 road which borders the east side of the estate. In 1930 it was declared a Monument of Historic and Artistic interest and in 1985 it was incorporated within the Regional Park of the Cuenca de Manzanares.

30km Madird

LOS PENASCALES

45km Aeropuerto

PALACIO DEL CANTO DEL PICO

TORRELODONES

LAS ROZAS

RENFE CHAMARTÍN

MADRID

PARQUE REGIONAL DE LA CUENCA ALTA DEL

MANZANARES

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ROESTE A-6 AUTOV IA DEL NOROESTE

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The Palace and the estate are located in unique and incomparable surroundings.

Located only 30 kilometres away from Madrid it is an exquisite estate, where you can escape from the world and surrender to your sensorial feelings of light, color, fragrance, granite textures and spatial depth.

It is found at the highest point of the Torrelodones municipality and stands on a, granite mass with stunning views across the municipality. In the distance the city of Madrid in all its splendour is silhouetted against the skyline.

Taking the A-6 motorway and the M-30 and M-40 motorways which circle Madrid, the estate is within easy reach of Madrid’s international airport Barajas which is located 45 kilometres away. Madrid’s central train station, Chamartin, is 40 kilometres away.

AEROPUERTO BARAJAS

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CANTO DEL PICO ESTATE SURFACE AREA OF ESTATE..................................... 1.045.000m2

BUILDINGS LOCATED ON ESTATE

PALACE GROUND FLOOR..............................................................................750m2

FIRST FLOOR............................................................................................1.125m2

SECOND FLOOR................................................................................1.125m2

TOTAL SURFACE AREA..................3.000m2

COLUMNED TERRACE...........................................................800m2

OPEN AIR POOL

PENA BERMEJA COTTAGE GROUND FLOOR..............................................................................260m2

FIRST FLOOR.........................................................................................260m2

SECOND FLOOR..............................................................................100m2

TOTAL SURFACE AREA.........................620m2

KEEPERS COTTAGE GROUND FLOOR...................................................................................110m2

FIRST FLOOR..............................................................................................70m2

TOTAL SURFACE AREA...........................180m2

STABLES...................................................................................................300m2

GARDEN

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ENTRACEM - 6 1 8

Situated in a unique and unrivaled property the Palacio del Canto del Pico Resort is a Project which aims to create an exquisite natural space, thanks to a subtle architecture which brings together nature and culture in perfect harmonic synthesis.

It is a cutting edge urban proposal, with a refined and ingenious architecture, where even the tiniest design details are aimed at protecting the perfect natural balance that nature offers in this outstanding terrain.

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BUILDINGS LOCATED ON THE ESTATE

PALACE...............................................................................................3.000m2

BANQUETTING HALL...............................................................800m2

INDOOR SPA AND GYMNASIUM

PENA BERMEJA COTTAGE-LUXURY SUITE GROUND FLOOR..............................................................................260m2

FIRST FLOOR.........................................................................................260m2

SECOND FLOOR..............................................................................100m2

TOTAL SURFACE AREA.........................620m2

KEEPERS COTTAGE-LUXURY SUITE GROUND FLOOR...................................................................................110m2

FIRST FLOOR..............................................................................................70m2

TOTAL SURFACE AREA...........................180m2

STABLES...................................................................................................300m2

GARDEN

EXTENSION HOTEL RESORT CANTO DEL PICO

PARKING ZONE INDOOR

::: ESTATE ENTRACE

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The characteristics of this resort, which combine luxury with authenticity, will be such that the hotel created will be of a luxury that far surpasses the traditional sense of the word.

This resort will reflect the beauty of its surroundings, capturing the elements that make it unique and escaping from globalization.

The proposal has as its main objective to create a hotel which is comprised of diverse elements and whose pivotal vertices, are the Palace itself, where the public spaces will be located, and the estate. Next to the palace and totally integrated into the mountainside an extension would be added to the palace to house the guest rooms.

The additional features to complete the resort would be located throughout the estate, always in perfect harmony with their surroundings and interwoven with a network of pathways for the guests for sport and leisure activities.

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PALACE CANTO DEL PICO.......................................3.000m2

[lobby, living areas, terraces, bars, dining rooms, banqueting halls, guest rooms, kitchen, offices...]

EXTENSION HOTEL CANTO DEL PICO SECOND FLOOR...........................................................................1.930m2

FIRST FLOOR......................................................................................2.770m2

GROUND FLOOR...........................................................................1.830m2

SUB. -1..............................................................................................................1.510m2

SUB. -2............................................................................................................1.510m2

SUB. -3............................................................................................................1.510m2

SUB. -4............................................................................................................1.180m2

TOTAL SURFACE AREA....................12.240m2

TOTAL ROOMS...................................100rooms

INDOOR PARKING

SUB. -1...........................................................................................................1.200m2

SUB. -2..........................................................................................................800m2

TOTAL SURFACE AREA.................2.000m2

TOTAL SPACES.......................................112spaces

INDOOR SPA AND GYMNASIUM....................................850m2

BANQUETING HALL...................................................................800m2

GARDEN

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The Project doesn’t only give importance to integrating the resort into the landscape, but also pledges to be environmentally friendly, incorporating energy efficiency schemes into its proposal.

The facades will be covered with natural stone, emulating their rocky surroundings, and the terraces, which will provide areas to sit and relax in, will be decorated with plants from the local area and will also be constructed in stone materials. The orientation of the rooms will allow not only for magnificent views, but also for optimum hours of sunlight. The dimension of the stone walls and the plant coverings will allow for thermal inertia, to regulate the temperature within the buildings naturally, consequently saving energy.

The interiors of the rooms will offer a haven of peace, where white and neutral tones would abound to illuminate. They will be equipped with the latest automated systems on the market for the sake of greater sustainability.

—“What is it?” he said.

—“What is what?” I asked him.

—“There … that noise.”

—“That’s silence …”

Juan Rulfo, “Luvina”. El llano en llamas

THE LANGUAGE OF THE LAND.

“Cracks due to broken stones,Volumes generated by a pile of rocks,Pieces arranged according to the laws of the terrain,

Specifics ……”

These are the productive procedures generated by a geometry that gives a figurative dimension to the world of “ROCKS AND STONES”.

Maurici Pla. Land art y pensamiento salvaje.

Spas have ceased to be centers dedicated exclusively to body culture and beauty they also focus on health and wellbeing. The fast lives we lead in these modern times make our bodies yearn to be soothed in hot springs and if you add to this a pleasant massage the effects will be invaluable.

It will also offer sessions of thalassotherapy with hot and cold zones, which will contribute to providing us with delicious moments of relax.

At the resort SPA, which will have an indoor and outdoor area, guests will be able to let, themselves be pampered all year around and allow their senses to be stimulated. The priority of the Spa is to offer its clients a uniquely calming ambience where they can feel totally relaxed and obtain a feeling of total well-being.

At the foot of the palace, with outstanding views of Madrid in the distance and with a capacity for 400 people, will stand a grand banqueting hall where guests will be able to celebrate weddings, conferences and all variety of events.

Surrounded by terraced gardens which surround the palace, it has a surface area of 800 metres and additional exterior terraces where guests can enjoy their unique and exclusive natural surroundings. It is a luxurious and ample space where through large windows guests will be able to merge with the views and the surroundings. Using a system of mobile panels the space can be converted into separate rooms to hold various events simultaneously or to meet the requirements of each individual event.

Ideal for weddings, conferences, company meetings... In close proximity to the hall is a two-storey underground parking with the capacity for 112 vehicles.

So that guests can enjoy the natural surrounds, leisure trails will be available, for walks, jogging, cycling, or electric cars.

These pathways, which already exist and which stretch throughout the entire estate are delicately woven into the landscape.

Trails, arising as a result of the symbiotic existence between nature and artifice, will aim to capture a person’s perception. The path ways, are a place of enrichment and sensorial experiences, bringing to life your imagination. As a result each person’s perception of their experience will be different.

Light, sound, movement, colour, smell, water, spatial depth, and textures resonate everywhere, creating features that have more to do with intuitive impressions than with rational points of reference.

c/ Santa Ana, 903204. Elche. Spaint. 0034 966 674 318 info@gearquitectos.eswww.gearquitectos.es