Get out and stay out! Spain orders descendants of dictator Franco to leave treasure-laden summer palace

Franco’s heirs have been told they must leave the Pazo de Meiras by Thursday and take their possessions, but nothing which belongs to the state, reports Graham Keeley in Spain

The Pazo de Meiras palace inventory revealed the opulent life enjoyed by the Spanish dictator and his family (EPA)

Paintings by Spanish masters such as Zuloaga, two 12th-century sculptures of the prophets Isaac and Abraham, royal tapestries and valuable glassware are among a treasure trove found in the former summer palace of General Francisco Franco.

Some 637 items listed in a 1,000-page inventory of the contents of the Pazo de Meiras palace revealed the opulent life enjoyed by the Spanish dictator and his family.  

However, the family of the man who ruled Spain for nearly four decades will have to forgo all this from Thursday, after a judge ruled they must vacate the 16-acre property.