For more than 200 years, Madrid's Museo del Prado has provided cultural enjoyment for locals and visitors from all over the world. It's survived civil war, natural disasters – and now a pandemic.

With its collection of more than 15,000 paintings, drawings, engravings and sculptures, the museum forms part of the Paseo del Prado and El Retiro area of Madrid, which is competing to be named as a UNESCO World Heritage site. 

Long-awaited recognition

"I think it will be an honor and a recognition," Prado Museum Communications director Carlos Chaguaceda tells CGTN Europe. "This museum is 200 years old and is recognized around the world – the value of the paintings and the masterpieces is well known everywhere. 

"But this kind of recognition is like a tick on the agenda. And at this moment of a difficult situation around the globe, it will be another element to come to visit Madrid."

The Prado reported an 84 percent decline in ticket sales during the pandemic and resulting lockdown  – although the queues for its reopening last year proved the importance of such cultural landmarks like the Prado in a post-pandemic world. For Chaguaceda, the renewed appreciation of culture was one of the few good things to come out of the pandemic.

"Culture has increased its value," he says. "We've had our top score ever on our website because people need culture – it's not words, it's reality. And we are very happy with that and we hope all this interest and curiosity translates into visits and real experiences, which is the most important."

A landscape of arts and sciences

The bid to become a World Heritage site doesn't just involved the Museo del Prado – it also includes Madrid's adjacent royal park, known as El Retiro. Along with the Prado museum, the whole area is a unique mix of culture, science and nature, all located in the very heart of the city. 

The original idea of the site was to bring all those elements together in a space that was easily accessible to the public. In fact, when it was first constructed in 1785 the building that now houses the Prado was originally home to the Cabinet of Natural History, the Academy of Science and a chemical laboratory.

Over time, Madrid's urban sprawl has grown ever larger and yet the site of Paseo del Prado and Buen Retiro has remained relatively untouched right at its centre. The organisers behind the bid say this factor perfectly fulfils the criteria needed to achieve World Heritage status. 

The final decision will be made at the 44th session of the World Heritage committee at Fuzhou in China at the end of July.