Skip to main content
News

Spain returns Civil War-era paintings to former Madrid mayor's family

The government hands back artworks nearly 90 years after they were taken for safekeeping during the conflict.
Óscar Ontañón Docal Editor Spain 23 May 2025

Spain returns Civil War-era paintings to former mayor's family

The latest news on Spain. We now know that Spain has returned on Thursday evening seven 19th-century paintings to the family of Pedro Rico, the former mayor of Madrid, nearly nine decades after they were seized during the Spanish Civil War.

The artworks, once held in museums including the Prado, were officially handed over in a ceremony led by the Culture Minister. Authorities have spent years tracing thousands of items taken during the conflict that were never returned under Franco's regime.

Editor Spain Óscar Ontañón Docal wrote for Gamereactor from 2024, covering world news and politics alongside games, hardware and film. His work appeared on the Spanish and international editions.
Full profile Gamereactor author since 2024 · 4,543 published articles
Why trust Gamereactor
23 Editions Each with its own newsroom and its own scores.
1998 Publishing since Independently owned for the whole of it.
100% Hands-on Written from time with the game, never press material.
1–10 Network Score Every edition’s score, averaged and shown.