Felipe González and Mar García Vaquero share El Penitencial in the Sierra de Guadalupe: a private estate of more than 100 hectares with a home of about 600 square metres. González bought it in 2012.
In November 2021 Alberto Núñez Feijóo visited Felipe González at El Penitencial, putting the Cáceres estate in the political spotlight. The property is also the former prime minister’s private base in Extremadura, where he spends time away from Madrid.
González and his wife, Mar García Vaquero, share more than 100 hectares of land and a home measuring about 600 square metres in the Sierra de Guadalupe. He bought the estate in 2012, after marrying García Vaquero, from businessman Joaquín Vázquez, a friend of González. The property formed part of a much larger tract of land.
The couple adapted an existing rural building for use as a leisure home. The renovated house has two floors and five bedrooms, each with its own bathroom. Its shared rooms include a dining room and a lounge with a fireplace; a study sits alongside a large kitchen designed for family gatherings.
The kitchen gives González room to cook for his family, an interest he has pursued at the property. He also spends time on goldsmithing and working with stones. Outside, the estate has olive trees, as well as space for bonsai cultivation, which keeps him close to the surrounding landscape.
Feijóo was among the prominent visitors. King Juan Carlos has also been to the estate. The Feijóo visit came at a delicate moment for the People’s Party, according to the account of the meeting.
The estate took on a different role during the pandemic lockdown, when its size and secluded setting allowed the couple to spend part of the restricted period there. González’s family has another connection to the area: his daughter María and her husband Eric Bergasa pursued a sustainable rural accommodation project nearby. The initiative was affected by the difficulties facing tourism during the pandemic.
Madrid remains part of the contrast with the rural property. A separate report on Sol retailers described the commercial pressures around the capital’s central square.
González’s earlier residences were tied to public life. He was prime minister from 1982 to 1996 and lived at La Moncloa with his first wife, Carmen Romero, and their three children. The family converted a basement cellar into a venue for musical performances and meetings with people from different fields.
González and Romero formally separated in 2008, after which she stayed in the family home in Somosaguas. He married García Vaquero in 2012. During his years in government he also used official locations near Doñana, including the palace and estate of Las Marismillas. Before moving to La Moncloa, he spent some summers at Casa Colorada in Puntas de Calnegre on the Murcia coast.
El Penitencial is a private property in a region González has known since his military service. The nearby municipality of Guadalupe is home to the Real Monasterio de Santa María de Guadalupe, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993.
