El Escorial
King Philip II of Spain stood at the foot of Mount Abantos in 1563 and laid the cornerstone for a structure that would redefine his reign. The date marked the beginning of a project commissioned to commemorate the Spanish victory at the Battle of St. Quentin on the 10th of August 1557 against King Henry II of France. Philip chose this austere location in the Sierra de Guadarrama mountains deliberately, rejecting the obvious choices for royal palaces. He wanted a princely mansion in a wooded countryside that was architecturally distinct from other buildings of the era. His personal aspiration to be both a monk and a monarch shaped every decision made during the design phase. Philip engaged Juan Bautista de Toledo as his primary collaborator after Toledo had spent years working on St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The king appointed Toledo as architect-royal in 1559 to oversee the complex. Together they designed El Escorial as a monument to Spain's role as a center of the Christian world. The result was an imposing three-story tall stronghold-like structure with dual functions as both a royal residence and monastery. Philip also intended the complex to serve as a necropolis for the interment of his parents Charles I and Isabella of Portugal. He envisioned El Escorial as a center for studies in aid of the Counter-Reformation cause. The building became so iconic that its design created a new architectural style known as the Herrerian style named after Juan de Herrera who took over after Toledo died.
The floor plan of the building takes the form of a gridiron which traditional belief holds was chosen in honor of Saint Lawrence. This third-century AD martyr was roasted to death on a grill according to historical accounts. Saint Lawrence's feast day falls on the 10th of August which matches the date of the 1557 Battle of St. Quentin. However the origin of this layout remains quite controversial among scholars today. The grill-like shape did not fully emerge until Juan de Herrera eliminated six interior towers from the original conception. Other buildings had been constructed with churches or chapels fronting on interior courtyards before this project began. King's College Cambridge dating from 1441 serves as one such example of earlier grid-like structures. The old Ospedale Maggiore in Milan begun in 1456 by Antonio Filarete represents another grid-like building with interior courtyards. Palaces of this approximate design were commonplace in both the Byzantine and Arab worlds during previous centuries. Strikingly similar to El Escorial is the layout of the Alcázar of Seville and the design of the Alhambra at Granada. These locations feature two courtyards in succession that separate the main portal from a fully enclosed place of worship. The most persuasive theory suggests the floor plan derives from descriptions of the Temple of Solomon by Flavius Josephus. A portico followed by a courtyard open to the sky leads to a second portico and second courtyard all flanked by arcades. Statues of David and Solomon stand on either side of the entrance to the basilica lending weight to this theory. A fresco in the center of the library reminds viewers of Solomon's legendary wisdom affirming Philip's preoccupation with the great Jewish king.
The basilica of San Lorenzo el Real was originally designed to take the form of a Latin cross like most late Gothic cathedrals of Western Europe. Juan de Herrera modified this plan to create a Greek cross with four arms of equal length instead of one long descending arm. Coincident with this shift the bell towers at the western end were reduced in size and replaced with a full circular dome over the center. The Roman dome inspired by St. Peter's Basilica soars nearly 30 meters into the air supported by four heavy granite piers connected by simple Romanesque arches. These piers are decorated by plain solid Doric pilasters that appear largely unprepossessing compared to their Italian counterparts. The area surrounding the high altar contains a three-tiered reredos made of red granite and jasper standing nearly 28 meters tall. Gilded bronze statuary by Leone Leoni adorns the screen while religious paintings commissioned by Philip II fill the spaces between. To either side stand gilded life-size bronzes of kneeling family groups created by Leoni with help from his son Pompeo. A shallow niche at the lowest level houses the tabernacle designed by Juan de Herrera in jasper and bronze built between 1579 and 1586 by Jacopo da Trezzo. Michelangelo died in 1564 barely a year after the first stones were laid at El Escorial. Titian respectfully refused when asked to come to Spain due to his advanced age. Consequently Philip consulted foreign ambassadors for recommendations resulting in a parade of lesser European artists seeking favor at the construction site. One chapel exhibits the famous Crucifix carved in white marble by Benvenuto Cellini which represents Christ fully nude wearing one cloth covering the genitals. Frescoes by Luca Giordano cover the barrel vaults of the naves depicting scenes from the history of Redemption.
Under the royal chapel of the Basilica lies the Royal Pantheon crypt serving as the burial place for kings of Spain since Charles I. This octagonal Baroque mausoleum made of marble contains twenty-six sepulchres holding remains of monarchs from Habsburg and Bourbon dynasties. The only queen regnant buried here since Philip II is Isabella II while Philip V Ferdinand VI and Amadeus of Savoy remain excluded. The most recent monarch interred in the pantheon is King Alfonso XIII removed there from Rome in 1980. Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg wife of Alfonso XIII was interred in the pantheon in 2011 after her death. Two pudrideros or decaying chambers exist within the complex where remains are placed in leaden urns before final interment. These rooms can only be visited by monks from the Monastery and hold bodies for fifty years until decomposition completes. The Count of Barcelona father of King Juan Carlos I rests in this pantheon despite never becoming king himself. His daughter-in-law Princess María de las Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies died in 2000 and now awaits placement alongside him. Thirty-seven of sixty available niches are currently filled with royal remains. A separate Pantheon of Princes completed in 1888 serves as the final resting place for princes princesses and consorts other than parents of monarchs. Floors and ceilings of white marble adorn these nine burial chapels including the notable tomb of Prince John of Austria. Infante Alfonso younger brother of King Juan Carlos I was buried here in October 1992 after being killed in a mysterious shooting at age fourteen.
Philip II donated his personal collection of documents to the building and undertook acquisition of finest libraries and works of Western European Humanism. During his reign an entire room dedicated to ancient manuscripts held approximately 1,800 Arabic titles among many Latin Greek Hebrew Aramaic and Italian texts. The first books were acquired in 1571 through Juan Paez de Castro who served as one of Philip's ambassadors. Philip bought a large portion of Gonzalo Pérez collection containing 57 original Greek manuscripts from Sicily and 112 Latin ones from Calabria. He also purchased 315 original volumes in Greek and Arabic from Juan Páez de Castro's personal library. An inventory prepared in 1576 counted 4,546 volumes over 2,000 manuscripts and 2,500 printed books. That same year the library of Diego Hurtado de Mendoza became part of the collection with 850 codices and over 1,000 printed volumes. Benito Arias Montano had to be specially hired to organize these books by language and subject. In the 1580s Jorge Beteta donated a manuscript of the Concilios visigóticos from the ninth century while Philip acquired books from Isabella I of Castile including her Libro de Horas. A fire in 1671 destroyed about 5,280 handwritten codices but saved the printed collections which now include more than 600 incunabula and thousands of 16th-century books. The library reached its peak under Philip IV before Bourbon kings reversed acquisition trends after the War of the Spanish Succession. Currently the library holds over 40,000 volumes including many important illuminated manuscripts such as the Ottonian Golden Gospels of Henry III dated between 1045 and 1046.
On the 2nd of November 1984 UNESCO declared The Royal Seat of San Lorenzo of El Escorial a World Heritage Site marking its global significance. It is now a popular tourist attraction often visited by day-trippers from Madrid with more than 500,000 visitors coming every year. The building has evolved from royal monastery to heritage site through centuries of adaptation and preservation efforts. In 2024 El Escorial began reorganizing for visitors over two years funded by €6.5 million from the EU. Instead of using side entrances visitors now enter through the imposing Patio of Kings courtyard while the Patio of the Evangelists opens to public access. The painting and architecture galleries long dormant are being reopened reorganized and revitalized throughout this period. LED lighting updates electric vehicle charging points and solar panels modernize the historic structure for contemporary needs. The Palace of Philip II features windows allowing observation of mass from bed when incapacitated by gout that afflicted him. Frescoes in the Hall of Battles depict Spanish military victories including medieval campaigns against Moors and Philip's own wars against France. The library corridors branch out into different sections before reconverging as subjects progress from concreteness to abstraction toward theology geometry and mathematics near the basilica. Manuel Azaña last president of Second Spanish Republic studied here and mentioned these gardens in his memoirs and play El jardín de los frailes. Students at the Real Colegio de Alfonso XII still use the Gardens of the Friars today to study and pass time.
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Common questions
When did King Philip II of Spain lay the cornerstone for El Escorial?
King Philip II of Spain laid the cornerstone for El Escorial in 1563. This event marked the beginning of a project commissioned to commemorate the Spanish victory at the Battle of St. Quentin on the 10th of August 1557 against King Henry II of France.
Who designed the architectural style known as Herrerian style at El Escorial?
Juan de Herrera created the architectural style known as the Herrerian style after taking over from Juan Bautista de Toledo following his death. The gridiron floor plan emerged fully when Herrera eliminated six interior towers from the original conception.
Which monarchs are buried in the Royal Pantheon crypt under the basilica of San Lorenzo el Real?
The Royal Pantheon crypt serves as the burial place for kings of Spain since Charles I and contains twenty-six sepulchres holding remains of monarchs from Habsburg and Bourbon dynasties. The most recent monarch interred there is King Alfonso XIII removed from Rome in 1980 while Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg was interred in 2011.
How many volumes does the library at El Escorial hold today?
Currently the library holds over 40,000 volumes including many important illuminated manuscripts such as the Ottonian Golden Gospels of Henry III dated between 1045 and 1046. A fire in 1671 destroyed about 5,280 handwritten codices but saved printed collections which now include more than 600 incunabula and thousands of 16th-century books.
When did UNESCO declare El Escorial a World Heritage Site?
On the 2nd of November 1984 UNESCO declared The Royal Seat of San Lorenzo of El Escorial a World Heritage Site marking its global significance. It is now a popular tourist attraction often visited by day-trippers from Madrid with more than 500,000 visitors coming every year.