From October 25 to 27, the Rey Juan Carlos University’s Pavia building will host an international congress dedicated to courtly culture and the evolving exchanges between the Iberian Peninsula and the Dutch Netherlands during the 15th and 16th centuries. The event, titled Changes in Palace Culture Between the Palaces of the Iberian Peninsula and the Habsburg Netherlands (15th-16th Centuries), invites historians, curators, and scholars to explore how royal houses communicated, styled power, and shared artistic influences across borders during a pivotal era of European history.
Over three days, attendees from diverse nations will present fresh research, share archival discoveries, and engage in dialogues about the historical dynamics that shaped court life. The program emphasizes the significance of these intercultural exchanges—not only for understanding political alliances and diplomacy but also for tracing the roots of later artistic movements that drew on cross-continental inspirations. The discussions aim to illuminate how palace rituals, ceremonial practices, architectural choices, and aesthetic preferences traveled between courts, and how those movements influenced painting, music, theatre, and fashion in both regions.
Organized through a collaboration that includes the Rey Juan Carlos University in Madrid, the University of Silesia in Katowice (Poland), and the Moll Institute, this congress is supported by a network of researchers affiliated with renowned heritage and arts institutions. The Moll Institute, a Madrid-based research center focused on flamenco painting and linked to Editorial Prensa Ibérica, helps frame the thematic core of the gathering by providing historical and visual context to palace art and decor. The opening ceremony takes place on Wednesday, October 25 at 15:00 and will feature participation from distinguished representatives, including a high-level official from the government and delegates from associated institutions. The presence of diplomatic and scholarly figures underscores the event’s international scope and scholarly credibility. (citation: Moll Institute; institutional partners)
The congress offers a comprehensive program that attendees can access through the event’s official channels, with daily updates to help participants follow sessions and discussions. Prospective participants are encouraged to register as soon as possible to secure places in the various panels, lectures, and roundtable discussions. The schedule includes keynote talks, panel discussions, archival demonstrations, and guided analyses of primary sources such as palace inventories, correspondence, and artistic commissions that reveal how cultural ideas moved across the Atlantic-European axis through the centuries. (citation: institutional partners; official program materials)