The first artistic signs in the Iberian Peninsula come from the Upper Paleolithic. From this period, we should highlight Altamira´s cave paintings.

Important vestiges from the Hispanic-Roman art such as the walls of Lugo, the theatres of Sagunto and Merida, the Aqueduct of Segovia and Itálica in Seville have arrived to our days.

The Hispanic-Muslim art was developed from the VIII Century to the XV Century in several stages: from the caliphal period we should highlight the Mosque of Córdoba; from the Taifas Kingdoms period, beautiful decorated palaces have arrived to our days (Aljafería, Zaragoza); from the Almoravide art, the Giralda of Seville survives; and from the Nasrid period, the impressive Alhambra of Granada should be highlighted.

During these Centuries, different artistic manifestations take place in the North of Spain such as the Mozarab art (San Millán de la Cogolla, La Rioja), the Asturian Preromanesque art (Santa María del Naranco, Oviedo) and the Catalonian Preromanesque art (churches of Terrassa.)

From the XI Century, the Romanesque art starts to dominate Spain, It was very important in the construction of monasteries (Sant Pere de Rodes, San Martín de Frómista). From the XIII Century, the Gothic style starts to prevail, with the monastery of Poblet and Santes Creus (Catalonia), and the cathedral of León, Burgos and Toledo.

The Mudejar style, a peculiar artistic style and a fusion between the Christian style and the Muslim style, was developed in a parallel way to the Romanesque and the Gothic styles. We can find its best examples in Toledo and Teruel.

At the end of the XV Century, the Renaissance art starts to dominate. We should highlight the Palace of Carlos V (Granada) and the monastery of El Escorial (Madrid) in architecture. In sculpture, Alonso Berruguete and Juan de Juni´s works are fundamental, Regarding to painting Juan de Juanes, Pedro Berruguete and specially El Greco´ s works should be highlighted.

The Barroque was developed in Spain during the XVII Century and the first half of the XVIII Century. In architecture, the cathedral of Murcia and the Palace of the Marqués de Dos Aguas in Valencia are relevant. In sculpture the carving and painting of religious images was proliferated, so Gregorio Fernández and Juan Mesa´s works are highlighted. During this period, painting experienced the best period in the history of art in Spain, with authors such as Ribera, Zurbarán, Murillo and specially, Velázquez.

In the middle of the XVIII Century, the Neoclassic style starts to prevail. It is reflected in the architecture of the Prado Museum, and in Goya´s paintings.

In the XIX Century, the Romanticism broke with the Neoclassic style. From this period, the building of the National Library and Mariano Fortuny or Pérez Villaamil paintings are relevant.

The Modernism specially triumphed in Catalonia, and its main representative was Gaudí, the author of the Sagrada Familia and the Casa Milá, among others.

The Spanish painting from the XX Century reached the international recognition, thanks to Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró and Salvador Dalí. In the current scene we should highlight to Bofill, Moneo and Calatrava (architecture), Chillida (sculpture) and Tàpies and Barceló (painting.)

Spain has a wide network of libraries and museums along the country that contains some of the most valuable treasures of the world culture and art. The most important library is the Spanish National Library that was inaugurated in Madrid in 1712, with more than 5 million of books. It contains a wide range of exclusive, peculiar, old and important books and a great collection of engravings and manuscripts. Other important libraries are the library of the Complutense University of Madrid, the library of the Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial and the Archivo General de Indias (General Archive of the Indies.)

In Spain there are more than three thousand museums and collections. The most well-known museum is the Prado Museum.