Prado Museum's Bicentennial: Restoration, AI, and Princess of Asturias Award

Despite political gridlock in Spain delaying state budget approval, the Museo del Prado has begun restoring the Salón de Reinos using its own funds. The €5 million first phase, financed by surplus from 2017-2018, involves cleaning and consolidating the 17th-century ceiling and painted decorations. The Salón de Reinos, part of the former Palacio del Buen Retiro destroyed by Napoleonic troops, will become an additional venue designed by Norman Foster and Ruiz Arquitectos, completing the Prado Campus of five buildings. Deputy director Andrés Ubeda de los Cobos stated that traces of original decoration from Philip IV's era were found under plaster, and the aim is to evoke the hall's appearance circa 1635. Velázquez once commissioned over 900 paintings for the space, many now at the Prado. Separately, the Prado has expanded its website with AI tools via Telefonica, offering augmented reading for 5,600 Spanish and 2,700 English cards, plus a customizable timeline. This follows its 2015 Webby Award for best cultural institution website. The museum also received the Princess of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities in Oviedo, recognizing its role in preserving and disseminating Spanish cultural heritage and contributing to democratic development over 200 years.