Unicaja Foundation organizes in Málaga a series of lectures on the history and artistic patronage of the House of Alba

Unicaja Foundation continues its program of parallel activities on the occasion of the exhibition 'Patronage and Collecting in the House of Alba' with a series of lectures on the family history and artistic patronage of the House of Alba. Coordinated and moderated by the cultural director of the Casa de Alba Foundation, Álvaro Sánchez Romero-Arjona, the lectures will take place on October 30, November 20, December 3, and December 9 at 7:30 PM at the Unicaja Cultural Center in Málaga, with free admission until full capacity is reached.

José Manuel Calderón, PhD in Law and History and director of the Archive and Library of the House of Alba, will inaugurate the series on Thursday, October 30 with the talk 'The House of Alba in the History of Spain,' in which he will discuss the historical process through which this Toledo lineage began its political and noble ascent, from its creation and consolidation between the Middle Ages and the 16th century, to becoming one of the most long-standing noble families with over nine centuries of history.

On November 20, it will be the turn of María José Rubio, historian specializing in Modern and Contemporary Spanish History and Hispanic Monarchy, who will review in her talk 'Great Women of the House of Alba: Character, Prestige, and Legacy' the history and lives of figures such as María Henríquez de Toledo, Catalina de Haro y Guzmán, María Teresa Álvarez de Toledo, María Teresa Cayetana de Silva, Rosalía Ventimiglia y Moncada, María Francisca de Sales Portocarrero, María del Rosario Falcó, and Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart. Women who held the title by their own right or were consorts, but who stood out in their time for their pioneering character, brilliant personality, or their service and legacy to society.

Professor of Art History at the University of Alcalá, Gonzalo Redín, will deliver the lecture 'The XIV Duke of Alba, Grande of Spain and Collector in the Europe of the Restoration' on December 3, in which he will discuss the life of Carlos Miguel Fitz-James Stuart, VII Duke of Berwick, who became XIV Duke of Alba at just eight years old following the death without descendants of his second aunt, María Teresa de Silva Álvarez de Toledo. Expelled from the court after choosing José I Bonaparte as the new king of Spain, he began a long Grand Tour through Italy where he formed one of the most important and original Spanish art collections of the time, preserved by the Casa de Alba Foundation to this day.

On December 9, Álvaro Sánchez Romero-Arjona, PhD in Modern History and cultural director of the Casa de Alba Foundation, will close the series with the talk 'Custodians of a Legacy: The Palaces of the House of Alba and Their Collections,' which will review the patronage and collecting efforts of the Dukes of Berwick and Alba over more than five centuries through which they have amassed countless artistic, documentary, and bibliographic testimonies of the highest level, distributed in the three main family residences: the Liria Palace (Madrid), Las Dueñas (Seville), and Monterrey (Salamanca).

The exhibition 'Patronage and Collecting in the House of Alba' can be visited at the Unicaja Cultural Center in Málaga from Monday to Saturday from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM and from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM, and on Sundays and holidays from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. The entrance to the center is a charitable donation of 3 euros and the proceeds will be entirely donated to the Málaga entities Cáritas Diocesana and Hermanitas de los Pobres.