El Escorial

San Lorenzo de El Escorial redirects here. For the municipalities, see San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Madrid and El Escorial, Madrid.

Monastery and Site of the Escurial, Madrid

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Criteria	Cultural: i, ii, vi
Reference	318
Inscription	1984 (8th Session)

General Information

El Escorial, Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo El Real (also known as Monasterio de El Escorial or simply, El Escorial) was since the last quarter of the 16^th century the Eighth Wonder of the World. Since 1561, El Escorial is a Historical Territory around two architectural complexes both of then of royal and monastic nature: El Real Monasterio de El Escorial and La Granjilla de La Fresneda. Philip II and his architect, Juan Bautista de Toledo, designed El Escorial innovating over the concepts of Real Sitio, Real Casa de Campo, Tierra de Realengo and Tierra de Abadengo. Nevertheless, because the main aim of Philip II was to build a Perpetual Home for the Catholic Crown of Spain, The Historical Territory of El Escorial was managed by the Abbot. In the 16^th Century, El Escorial, Monastery, Site and Natural Environment were a property of the a Hieronymite Monks Community.

But Philip II Directives about El Escorial collide with the mood of Charles III and Charles IV. The Conflict of Interests between The King and the Hieronymite monks was disastrous for the Natural Environment of El Escorial. The pick of the conflict can be set to 1812 (Royal Decree 18-VIII-1809). Since then, El Escorial, Monastery, Site and Environment is in crisis.

Because both, Valle de los Caídos (Tomb of Dictator General Franco, Spanish Civil War) and El Escorial (Royal Mausoleum) are in the same municipality, San Lorenzo de El Escorial, the Spanish Catholic Church and the main Spanish Political Parties -PP (Neoconservatives and Liberals -Tardofranquismo), PSOE (Socialists), IU (Communists), PC (Communists), Ezquerra Republicana de Cataluña (Republicans), CIU (Neoconservatives and Liberals), PNV (Nationalists), La Falange (Extreme Right)- are confused about the future of El Escorial and its Natural, Cultural and Symbolic Environment.

El Escorial is both, symbol of Spain as a Nation (symbol, also, of the Spanish Culture) and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. El Escorial is UNESCO Site since 1984, as El Escurial, Monastery and Site. But since 1998, this UNESCO Site is pending of a new inscription as El Escorial, Monastery, Site and Environment. But the Spanish Ministery of Culture, the Spanish Ministery of Education as well The Royal Institution (Instituto de España: Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Real Academia Española de la Lengua, Real Academia de la Historia, Real Academia de Ciencias Morales y Políticas, etc.) are idle about El Escorial. At present Spain is a Parliamentarian Monarchy given grounds to Constitutional Patriotism. Politically, the concept of Parliamentarian Monarchy is slightly different of Constitutional Monarchy.

El Escorial, Ignored World Heritage in Danger

Now, that Spain is rueled by a Parlamentarian King, His Majesty The King Don Juan Carlos, El Escorial, Monastery, Site and Environment, symbol of the Spanish Culture is being devastated. El Escorial is being ignored" as World Heritage in Danger: its natural environment, indivisible from the monastery is gravely threaten by housing directives incompatibles with El Escorial as unique natural, cultural and symbolic landscape.

Paradoxically, the Valley of the Fallen is in perfect shape and conservation meanwhile the countryside of El Escorial is strongly depredated by unsustainable speculative housing. In the last quarter of the 20^th Century, the Historical Territory of El Escorial was natural habitat for aguila imperial ibérica (Aquila adalberti) and lince ibérico (Lynx pardinus), two autochthonous species in danger of extinction. Unfortunately, UNESCO, ICOMOS, IUCN, the Council of Europe and the European Union are idle too about El Escorial, a Universal Demanial Cultural Good protected by Article 132.1 of the Spanish Constitution.

Construction and function

Situated next to Mt. Abantos in the Sierra de Guadarrama, the construction of this monumental complex was ordered by King Philip II of Spain to commemorate the victory at the Battle of St. Quentin in 1557 over the troops of Henry II, King of France. The complex was also intended to serve as a necropolis as for the interment of the remains of Philip’s parents, Charles I and Isabella of Portugal, as well as those of himself and his descendants, in addition to being a seat of studies in aid of the Counter-Reformation.

Since then, it has been the burial site for most Spanish kings of the last five centuries, from the houses of Habsburg and Bourbon. The Royal Pantheon contains the tombs of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (King Charles I of Spain), Philip II, Philip III, Philip IV, Charles II, Louis I, Charles III, Charles IV, Ferdinand VII, Isabel II, Alfonso XII and Alfonso XIII. The two Bourbon kings Philip V and Ferdinand VI, as well as King Amadeo of Savoy (1870-1873), are not buried in the Monastery.

The building’s cornerstone was laid on April 23, 1563. The construction was overseen by Juan Bautista de Toledo, who did not live to see its completion, dying in 1567. With his death, direction passed to his apprentice Juan de Herrera, under whom it was completed in 1584.

The floor plan of the building evokes a grill shape; this was traditionally thought to have been done in honor of Saint Lawrence, who was martyred by being roasted to death on a grill. St. Lawrence’s feastday is August 10, which is the same date on which the aforementioned Battle of St. Quentin took place.

El Escorial

In reality, however, the architectural origin of the building’s shape is quite controversial. Aside from the happy coincidence of the grill shape, which did not even appear until Herrera eliminated the six interior towers of the facade, the floor plan appears to be more nearly based on the descriptions of the Temple of Solomon by the Judeo-Roman historian Flavius Josephus, modified as necessary for the building’s function as a monastery and for the various other purposes Philip II intended the edifice to serve, including pantheon, basilica, convent, school, library, and palace. All these factors resulted in the building doubling its initial size.

The statues of David and Solomon that flank the entrance to the church (see Basilica of El Escorial) serve as a reminder of this origin, and parallel the differences between the warrior Charles V and the prudent Philip II. In the same way, the fresco of Solomon, situated in the center of the library, shows Solomon’s great wisdom in the famous episode with the Queen of Sheba.

The complex has an enormous store of art, including masterworks by Titian, Tintoretto, El Greco, Velázquez, Roger van der Weyden, Paolo Veronese, Alonso Cano, José de Ribera, Claudio Coello and others. Also at the complex is a library containing thousands of priceless ancient manuscripts like the collection of the Moroccan sultan Zidan Abu Maali (r.1603–1627). Giambattista Castello designed the main staircase.

On November 2, 1984, UNESCO declared The Royal Site of San Lorenzo of El Escorial a World Heritage Site. It is an extremely popular tourist attraction, often visited as a day trip from Madrid.

Sections of the Building

As noted above, the vast building of the Royal Site can be divided into several main sections.

Library

The library

Philip II donated his personal collection of documents to the building, and also undertook the acquisition of the finest libraries and works of Spain and foreign countries. It was planned by Juan de Herrera, who also designed the library’s shelves; the frescoes on the vaulted ceilings were painted by Pellegrino Tibaldi. The library’s collection consists of more than 40,000 volumes of extraordinary value, located in a great hall fifty-four meters in length, nine meters wide and ten meters tall with marble floors and beautifully carved wood shelves. Arias Montano produced the initial catalog for the library, selecting many of the most important volumes. In 1616 he was granted the privilege of receiving a copy of every published work, though there is no evidence that he ever took advantage of this right.

The vault of the library's ceiling is decorated with frescoes depicting the seven liberal arts: Rhetoric, Dialectic, Music, Grammar, Arithmetic, Geometry and Astrology.

Palace of Philip II

Situated next to the main altar of the Basilica, the residence of King Philip II is made up of a series of austerely decorated rooms. It features a window from which the king could observe Mass from his bed when incapacitated by the gout that afflicted him.

Basilica

Preceeded by the Patio of the Kings, this is the true nucleus of the complex. In it, students from this and other schools celebrate mass.

Hall of Battles

Fresco paintings here depict the most important Spanish military victories.

Pantheon of the Kings

This consists of twenty-six marble sepulchers containing the remains of the kings and ruling queens (the only ruling queen since Philip II being Isabella II), of the Hapsburgs and Bourbon dynasties from king Charles I (Holy Roman Emperor Charles V) to the present, except for kings Philip V and Ferdinand VI.

The sepulchers also contain the remains of royal consorts who were mothers or fathers of kings. The only king-consort is Francis of Asis de Bourbon, husband of queen Isabella II. The most recent remains in the sepulcher are those of King Alfonso XIII. Those of his wife, as well as his son Juan de Borbón and daughter-in-law Maria Mercedes (the parents of the current king, Juan Carlos I), lie at a prepared place called a pudridero (decaying chamber).

There are two pudrideros at El Escorial, one for the Pantheon of the Kings and the other for that of the Princes, which can only be visited by monks from the Monastery. In these rooms, the remains of the deceased are placed in a small leaden urn, which in turn will be placed in the marble sepulchers of the pantheon after the passage of some twenty to thirty years, the estimated time necessary for the complete decomposition of the bodies.

When the remains of Juan de Borbón and Maria Mercedes are deposited in the royal Pantheon, they will, in a sense, constitute exceptions to tradition. One of these lies in that the Counts of Barcelona, Don Juan y Doña María de las Mercedes, were never able to reign, due to the institution of the Second Republic and the exile of Alfonso XIII and his entire family, though are they the parents of the king. Another exception lies in the case of Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, who, although the wife of a king, was never the mother of a king in the strict sense. Some, however, do consider Don Juan to have been de jure King of Spain, which in turn would make Queen Victoria Eugenia the mother of a king. With the interment of their remains, all the sepulchers in the Royal Pantheon will be filled, and no decision has yet been announced as to the final resting place of the currenly living members of the Royal Family.

The walls of polished Toledo marble are ornamented in gold-plated bronze.

All of the wood used in El Escorial comes from the ancient forests of Sagua La Grande, on the so-called Golden Coast of Cuba.

Pantheon of the Princes

Completed in 1888, this is the final resting place of princes, princesses and queens who were not mothers of kings. With floors and ceiling of white marble, the tomb of Prince John of Austria is especially notable. Currently, thirty-six of the sixty available niches are filled.

Art Gallery

Consists of works of the German, Flemish, Venetian, Italian and Spanish schools from the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenthcenturies.

Architecture Museum

Its eleven rooms showcase the tools, cranes and other materials used in the construction of the edifice, as well as reproductions of blueprints and documents related to the project, containing some very interesting facts.

Gardens of the Friars

Constructed at the order of Philip II, who was a great lover of nature, these constitute an ideal place for repose and meditation. Manuel Azaña, who studied in the school run by Augustinian friars in this monastery, mentions them in his Memorias (Memoirs) and his play El jardín de los frailes (The Garden of the Friars). Students at the school today still use it to study and pass the time.

Reliquaries

Following a rule approved by the Council of Trent dealing with the veneration of saints, Philip II donated to the monastery one of the largest reliquaries in all of Catholicism. The collection consists of some 7500 relics, which are stored in 570 sculpted reliquaries designed by Juan de Herrera and largely constructed by the artisan Juan de Arfe Villafañe. These reliquaries are found in highly varied forms (heads, arms, pyramidal cases, coffers, etc.) and are distributed throughout the monastery, with the most important being concentrated in the Basilica.

See also

• El Escorial, Madrid (town), at 2 Km of Monasterio de El Escorial, through M505
• La Granjilla de La Fresneda de El Escorial, Madrid at 5 Km of Monasterio de El Escorial, through M505.
• List of World Heritage Sites in Spain
• Juan Bautista de Toledo
• Juan de Herrera
• Philip II of Spain
• San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Madrid

External links

• Practical Information for Public Visits
• El Escorial - picturesain
• Jardin del Monasterio de El Escorial - a Gardens Guide review
• El Escorial Monastery - History and Photos
• 74 Photos of El Escorial

40.589°N 4.148°W / 40.589; -4.148