A contemporary art historian of Biscayan descent, she was born in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) into a family of Indianos, natives of the municipality of Karrantza (Bizkaia).
She is a professor of Art History at the University of Salamanca, where she obtained her degree in her discipline, obtaining an extraordinary prize, and where she obtained her doctorate with the thesis entitled, ‘Manuel María de Smith Ibarra, Arquitecto’.
A specialist in contemporary art, especially in the field of 19th and 20th century architecture, he has also carried out research into sculpture, painting, collecting, etc., aspects on which he has supervised eight doctoral theses, several of which have received extraordinary prizes and have been published.
She has developed an intense career as a teacher and researcher, having published a large number of scientific articles in specialised journals such as Goya, Academia, Boletín del Seminario de Arte y Arqueología de Valladolid, Revista Internacional de Estudios Vascos, Cuadernos de Artes Plásticas y Monumentales de la Sociedad de Estudios Vascos, Liño, Norba, Cuadernos de Arte de la Universidad de Granada, Boletín del Museo Camón Aznar, De Arte, Santander Estudios de Patrimonio, Res Mobilis, Revista de Patrimonio Histórico de Castilla y León, Sancho el Sabio, Kobie, Abrente, etc.
She has participated in numerous national and international scientific congresses as a speaker and communicator, as well as in research projects and contracts with various institutions, and has been responsible for numerous extraordinary courses given at the University of Salamanca. She was also director of the Master in Evaluation and Management of Cultural Heritage at the University of Salamanca, recognised as one of the best in Spain in the category of cultural management.
She has relevant academic merits: six sexenios of research, all in consecutive years, and 8 quinquenios of teaching, also consecutive, and has been distinguished with different awards for her research work: Galeón de Cultura de la Revista Galea (1993), María de Maeztu for Scientific Excellence (2014), Karrantza Naturala (2018). Since 2022 she has been a member of the artistic advisory committee of the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum.
Among her numerous publications (books, book chapters, exhibition catalogues, catalogue chapters, articles, guides, etc.), the following books stand out:
1. PALIZA MONDUATE, M.: Manuel María de Smith Ibarra. Arquitecto 1879-1956. Diputación Foral de Bizkaia. Salamanca, 1988. (Segunda edición, 1989). (Tercera edición, 1991). (Cuarta edición, 2004).
2. PALIZA MONDUATE, M.: El arquitecto Rafael de Garamendi y la Residencia “Rosales”. Seguros Bilbao. Salamanca, 1989. (Segunda edición, 1993). (Edición íntegra en lengua inglesa, 1989).
3. PALIZA MONDUATE, M. y BASURTO FERRO, N.: La sede del Puerto Autónomo de Bilbao. El arquitecto Julián de Zubizarreta y el Hotel de la Familia Olábarri. Puerto Autónomo de Bilbao. Bilbao, 1990.
4. PALIZA MONDUATE, M.: La Residencia Olozaga. Un ejemplo de la arquitectura de indianos en Bizkaia. Diputación Foral de Bizkaia. Bilbao, 1992.
5. PALIZA MONDUATE, M.: El Castillo de Butrón. Un episodio del Romanticismo. Estudios Arriaga. Bilbao, 1992.
6. NIETO GONZÁLEZ, J. R. y PALIZA MONDUATE, M.: La arquitectura en las dehesas de Castilla y León. Consejería de Agricultura y Ganadería de la Junta de Castilla y León. Albacete, 1998.
7. PALIZA MONDUATE, M.: Bernabé de Garamendi. Un escultor bilbaíno 1833-1898. BBK. Bilbao, 1999.
8. PALIZA MONDUATE, M.: Arquitecturas de Posguerra. La Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes de Las Arenas. Ayuntamiento de Getxo. Bilbao, 2004.
9. PALIZA MONDUATE, M.: Arquitectura escolar pública en la Comunidad Autónoma de Euskadi. 1840-2005. Gobierno Vasco, Vitoria, 2005.
10. PALIZA MONDUATE, M.: El escultor Adolfo de Aréizaga 1848-1918. BBK, Bilbao, 2011.
11. PALIZA MONDUATE, M.: El proyecto de las Escuelas de Barriada y su desarrollo (1919-1938). Una epopeya de la historia de la educación en Bizkaia. Diputación Foral de Bizkaia y Gobierno Vasco, Bilbao, 2014.
12. PALIZA MONDUATE, M.: Las Arquitecturas del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao. BBK y Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao. Bilbao, 2019.
13. PALIZA MONDUATE, M.: La cerámica monumental de Daniel Zuloaga en la arquitectura de Bilbao. Itsasmuseum Bilbao, 2024.
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