In the vicinity of Madrid stands the most magnificent monument of Spanish architecture – the Escorial, which combines a monastery, a church, a royal palace and a pantheon. His idea came from King Philip II, who wished to perpetuate in this way the victory of the Spanish army over the French in 1557, to donate a new monastery to St. Lawrence, whose monastery was accidentally destroyed by the Spaniards during the battle, and at the same time to create a tomb where the ashes of his father, Charles V, would rest.
The search for a suitable location continued for about a year. Finally, it was found at the foot of the Sierra de Guadarrama mountain range, and in 1563 construction began under the leadership of Juan Bautista de Toledo, who was replaced by Juan de Herrera, who successfully completed the construction work in 1584. The best artists and sculptors from Spain and Italy were invited to decorate the interior. Under the next king, Philip III, the pantheon was reconstructed and decorated in the spirit of the new era. Almost all the Spanish kings, starting with Charles V, were buried in it, with the exception of two who did not like this gloomy place.
The escorial has a rectangular shape, in the center of it is a church with a pantheon, to the north of it is a palace, and to the south is a monastery. The austere style of the late Renaissance, bare walls of gray marble and granite, without any finery, countless windows and doors, stairs, corridors, galleries, courtyards – this is how the Escorial appears before us. The dome of the church is second in size only to the dome of St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome. Statues of six ancient kings mentioned in the Old Testament have been erected in the churchyard: Saul, Solomon, David and others. The royal apartments were decorated with special simplicity – Philip was religious and despised luxury, he preferred to live among monks rather than courtiers, and he himself resembled a monk. Only the church altar is richly decorated with jewels.
The Escorial has a rich library of ancient manuscripts. In modern times, two museums have been created here: one is dedicated to the history of construction, and the other is an art gallery that includes works by major painters of the XVI–XVII centuries: El Greco, Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto, Bosch and others. The foundation of this collection was laid by Philip, but it was replenished in the following centuries.
They say it's always cool in the Escorial, so tourists are advised to dress warmly.
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