In 1.557 Philip II, King of the Spanish Empire, won the french battle of San Quintín. Was the August 10th, day of San Lorenzo. Philip II wanted to show gratitude for the victory and decided build a temple in honor to this Saint.
Charles I becomes the founder of the Empire and his son, Philip II, who wanted a magnificence mausoleum for his father and a combination temple, pantheon, study center and meditation refuge for himself, decided that it should be located in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, where he would construct an inmense monastery.
This is how the Monastery became the project of one who wanted to give future centuries a fundamental work which reflects the imperial ideals of Philip II for all time. The great expounders of the Humanism of the Renaissance helped the King accomplish his project which was defined by reason, symmetry and balance, without forget even for a moment the all important austerity he desired. Everything was included in a huge quadrilateral of granite and slate that contained :
Aside from the Renaissance decoration featuring a dome painting by Pellegrino Tibaldi, the library has an enormously rich collection of documents which include Arab and Hebrew manuscripts as well as the personal library of Philip II. The floor is made of gray marble and the walls are covered with the bookshelves designed by Juan de Herrera and carved by Guiseppe Flecha y Gamboa. Among the singular works and manuscripts in the collection, we can find the Ballads of Alfonso X the Wise and the Virgilian manuscript.
The Monastery can be considered a symbol of the might of the Spanis empire in the 16th Century. The Church, with his fortythree altars each of which is graced with paintings, occupies the central part. The ceilings are decorated with frescos by Lucas Jordan and on each side of the main altar we can find statues of Charles I and Philip II, the work of Pompeyo Leoni.
The Mausoleum of the Kings holds the remains of all the Spanish monarchs from Charles I to Alfonso XIII, also the rests of Juan de Borbón, father of Juan Carlos I are taking repose there. A marble gallery leads to the Mausoleum of the Infants.
The Monastery also houses and important collection of painting and sculpture. We find paintings by excepcional artists such Tiziano, El Greco, El Veronés and Lucas Jordan. The furniture, however, is from the 18th Century. That was when the Palace of the Bourbons was added on to the Austrias. The Palace is divided into halls and rooms with rich tapestries made over models designed by Goya and which form part of the collection of tapestries based on models by Rubens, Tenniers and other painters.
The most important sections of The Monastery are:
Note that the next links you to the Spanish pages.
The money employed to make this impressive building was Ducat 6 millions . (1930's Ptas. 17.000.000.)
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