Palacio del Infante don Luis
The Palacio del Infante don Luis (also called Palacio de las dos Torres ) in Boadilla del Monte is one of the most important palace buildings of the late 18th century in Spain. It was the temporary residence of Prince Luis de Borbón y Farnesio (1727–1785), the youngest brother of the Spanish King Charles III. The building has been recognized as a national cultural asset ( Bien de Interés Cultural ) since 1974 .
location
The palace is located on the eastern outskirts of Boadilla del Monte about 14 kilometers west of Madrid at an altitude of about 690 meters above sea level. d. M.
history
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Since Luis de Borbón, as the youngest son of Philip V, had no prospects of a throne, his family chose a career in the church - so he was at the age of eight in 1735 by Pope Clement XII. appointed Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and Archbishop of Toledo . Six years later (1741) he was also appointed Archbishop of Seville . However, since he had no great inclinations towards church affairs and was more interested in art, music and dance as well as in hunting and fencing, he renounced his church dignities and income. In 1761 he bought the manor ( señorio ) of the town of Boadilla del Monte from the Marquesa de Mirabal for just under 1.2 million reales and acquired the neighboring county of Chinchón from his brother Felipe . He immediately commissioned the architect Ventura Rodríguez to build a palace, which was completed in 1765 and with its elongated, but only slightly indented facade, with its largely avoiding baroque ornament ornamental ( scrolls , heraldic shields , etc.) as a late stragglers of the Escorial viewed must become.
A few years after his unsuitable love marriage with the 18-year-old María Teresa de Vallabriga from the lower nobility in 1776, the almost 50-year-old Luis de Borbón moved into the Palacio de la Mosquera in Arenas de San Pedro, also built by Ventura Rodríguez in the province of Avila . His wife bore him three more children, but they - so it was from Karl III. - the royal court of Madrid could not come closer than 20 Leguas .
Up until 1936 the Palacio des Infante don Luis housed a rich art collection with works by Brueghel , Rembrandt , Murillo , Velázquez and others. a., but after the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, the palace building was used as a hospital, a prison and a commandant's office; from 1942 to 1973 it served as a school. The last owner, a descendant of Prince don Luis, sold it in 1988 to the city of Boadilla, which wants to house a European study center ( Instituto Europeo de Estudios Superiores de la Cultura y la Comunicación ) here.
architecture
The architecture of the building is somewhat reminiscent of the Escorial: A clear and ornament-free lines determine the elongated (approx. 100 meters) three-storey facade of the building, which is raised by corner towers that serve to illuminate the two side staircases. The frames of the windows and doors are simple and without decoration; only three balcony windows on the first floor above the entrance portals are raised by small gables or lunettes . The middle portal is slightly highlighted by set columns. A triglyph frieze with metope fields in between runs under the eaves . A total of eight decorative pilaster strips end in small vase attachments on the attic level . The two-storey garden ground floor with its geometrically laid out beds fits in with the severity of the building, which is designed identically on both sides .
While the rooms inside the palace are rather simple, the richly decorated chapel impresses with a dome that lets in light. The two daughters of Prince don Luis de Borbón - María Teresa de Borbón y Vallabriga (1780–1828), the Countess of Chinchón and María Luisa de Borbón y Vallabriga (1783–1846), Duchess of San Fernando - are buried here.
Fountain
Opposite the palace facade is a classical fountain system - also built by Ventura Rodríguez and named after him - with three shell-vaulted wall niches and a large border.
Web links
Coordinates: 40 ° 24 ′ 24 ″ N , 3 ° 52 ′ 25 ″ W.