EDUARDO DE ADARO. ARCHITECT OF THE BANCO DE ESPAÑA

The aim of this monographic study is to reinstate and showcase the legacy of Eduardo de Adaro. Adaro was one of the leading Spanish architects of the closing decades of the nineteenth century and designed the Banco de España's head offices in Madrid. The book is based on research carried out between 2019 and 2023 by Esperanza Guillén, Professor of Art History. It not only provides new information on Adaro's most iconic project, linking it with some of his lesser-known work in the areas of residential, prison, industrial and funerary architecture. It also offers an insight into some key aspects of the social and economic situation of fin-de-siècle Spain, when the country was immersed in a process of profound change. 

The publication of Eduardo Adaro. Architect of the Banco de España is the latest in a series of initiatives undertaken by the Banco de España to contribute to a deeper understanding of this architect's legacy. Manolo Laguillo, a major Spanish documentary photographer and one of the leading lights in the renovation of architectural and urban photography in the country, was commissioned to create a series of photos based on Esperanza Guillen's research. The end result is Adaro: A Case Study, comprising over three hundred pictures, arranged in six large contact sheets, which offer a novel overview of the architect's oeuvre. The bank has also organised an exhibition, entitled The Architecture of Eduardo de Adaro and the Banco de España. A Changing World, which seeks to explore a fundamental period in the history of the bank through the figure of Adaro while at the same time offering an insight into part of the bank's collection of artworks and documents.