Castillo de Madero

Castillo de Madero is the Madero Cabello residence of the Emperor of Nabarro Abarca and the Head of the Commonwealth. It is the setting for official state occasions, imperial entertaining and the formal reception of foreign heads of state and government. It is also one of the most popular tourist attractions in Nabarro Abarca, second only to some of the ancient Vasconian Indian pyramids and ziggurats.

The Castillo was originally built as a working castle by Emperor Agustín I after he was official created as Emperor of Nabarro Abarca by his cousin, the Holy Roman Emperor in 1628. As Nabarran authority began to expand northward, the emperors (and their empress consorts) began to redesign the Castillo to resemble not so much a military fortication as the suitable residence of the ruler of a powerful realm. Even after the Lanerian Revolutionary War, the imperial family did not feel personally threatened by foreign attack. By the beginning of the 19th century, the Castillo was a residential palace and not an armed castle. It was a large, elegant mansion designed for ceremonies of state, lavish entertaining, making grand impressions on visiting foreign leaders and, to a lesser extent, comfortable family life.

The state rooms form the core of the Castillo and are used regularly by the imperial family and their household when they are in residence for official business and entertaining. The Castillo de Madero is one of the Commonwealth's most well-known buildings and thousands of people visit each year as guests at one function or another. Millions more visit as tourists.