Madrid - Foreign Ministry

(Local Name: Palacio de Santa Cruz) The Palacio de Santa Cruz, now occupied by the Foreign Ministry (Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores), was originally built in the 17th C. as a prison. Together with the Plaza Mayor and the Casa de la Villa it forms part of the "Government quarter" which grew up round the old Alcázar of the Habsburgs. This substantial and well-proportioned building, with two stories flanked by towers, is believed to have been designed either by Juan Bautista Crescenci or by Juan Gómez de Mora, the architect responsible for the Plaza Mayor. In 1786, during the reign of Charles III, the palace was converted into a Law Court by Juan de Villanueva; from 1834 to 1877 it was occupied by the Madrid courts; and since 1931 it has housed the Foreign Ministry.