The building and rooms
At Calle Cervantes, number 11, fifteen meters wide and two stories tall, is what was Lope de Vega's home for the last 25 years of his life. From its construction in 1578, until today, more than four centuries later, the building has undergone several transformations. In spite of them, the Lope de Vega House Museum currently preserves some of the original structures and certain chambers in their first location. For the rooms that could not be documented, even though we know they existed, since, among other things, the poet mentions them in his own work, meticulous investigation was carried out that allowed the recreation of the same atmosphere, just as they were in the residence of the great Lope.
Among the academics, architects and historians connected to the restoration and assembly of the House Museum are, from the Real Academia Española (RAE, Royal Spanish Academy), Agustín González de Amezúa (academic) and Emilio Cotarelo (secretary), who managed the affairs with the Fundación García Cabrejo and the renters of the building. The architectural plans were the responsibility of Emilio Moya (official project), Pedro Muguruza (project manager) and Modesto López (Muguruza's assistant). The interior decoration, selection and placement of the objects of artistic heritage, was carried out by a group of literary and art historians comprised of Agustín González de Amezúa, Julio Cavestany and Francisco Javier Sánchez Cantón, advised by Emilio Cotarelo, Menéndez Pidal, Américo Castro, Gómez Moreno and Javier Sánchez Coutra, among others.
The structure prior to the RAE's restoration, had four corridors (hallways that accessed the chambers on both sides) parallel to the street, but the research conducted concluded that during the years the poet lived there, the house had only three.
Ground floor- There is not enough information about the ground floor of the house to be able to reproduce the original distribution. Supposedly, as in other buildings of the times, there was a room to receive unexpected visitors, some small spaces, perhaps for children, family members passing through Madrid, guests or a servant and, probably, the kitchen.
First floor- A stairway, from the center of the ground floor, led to a first floor, which now has a landing where before there was a hallway that led to the chambers. There, in the first corridor, is the studio and the drawing room; in the center, Lope's bedroom and the oratory, while the corridor facing the garden has the dining room, the kitchen and his daughters' bedroom.
Top floor/attic- A second set of stairs leads to the gabled attic, where captain Contreras' room, the servants' quarters and the sons' rooms are recreated.
Gardens- The gardens are essential to Lope de Vega's house as he spent many hours of his life strolling through them, tending the flowers and trees planted there.
