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Architecturally, the legacy of the Spanish monarchs
is enshrined in three palaces -- the Royal Palace
in Madrid, the palace at Aranjuez, and the monastery
and palace of San Lorenzo de el Escorial. The latter
are both within 30 miles of the city and can easily
be visited in a day. To see all three is to get
a sense of the Spain's past glory as a colonial
power, and the extraordinary artistic achievement
promoted by successive monarchs.
THE PALACIO REAL, MADRID
The Palacio Real (Royal Palace) is the largest palace
in Europe. It has 2,800 rooms and a banquet hall
with a dining table that can seat 140 people. The
Spanish royal family no longer lives there. Their
home is the smaller Zarzuela Palace outside Madrid.
But it is still used by King Juan Carlos I for ceremonial
occasions.
Foreign ambassadors present their credentials to
the king in -- appropriately-- the Ambassadors'
Room. The wedding reception for 1,400 guests following
the marriage in May of Prince Felipe, the Spanish
Crown Prince and television news anchor Letizia
Ortiz will be held there.
The palace was commissioned in 1734 by King Philip
V and was completed 26 years -- and two kings --
later. It was designed by Juan Bautista Sachetti
with the collaboration of Ventura Rodriguez. From
the entrance a wide marble staircase leads up to
a mile-long succession of rooms, including the throne
room which has wall coverings in red velvet bordered
with silver.
It is best to keep looking up at the ceilings because
the Rococo Venetian artist Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
painted several magnificent frescoes throughout
the palace. There are also magnificent tapestries
from the Royal Tapestry Factory, which is still
operating in Madrid.
The palace has its own chapel, with a throne for
the king, and also a room in which every inch of
the walls and ceiling are decorated in the 18th
century Chinese style.
ARANJUEZ
About half way between Madrid and Toledo is the
royal site of Aranjuez, situated in the valley formed
by the basins of the Tajo and Jarama Rivers. Spanish
kings began going to Aranjuez to relax and to hunt
in its royal forest in the 13th century. Philip
II built a palace there, but it was destroyed by
fire in 1665. The present palace, set back across
the splendor of a vast expanse of lawn dates back
to the second half of the 18th century. The outlying
grounds include the beautifully laid out Jardin
del Principe (Prince's Garden), and a botanical
garden from the 16th century, said to be the first
in Europe.
In this century the composer Joaquin Rodrigo immortalized
the site in music with his Concerto of Aranquez.
What's curious is that Rodrigo, who died last year,
was blind, but somehow felt the sensuous beauty
of the place. Juan Herrera, architect of El Escorial,
designed the present palace, but it was built for
King Ferdinand IV by Santiago Bonavia. The projecting
wings were added later. Built in the Baroque style,
it has a grand staircase leading up to a series
of sitting rooms decorated with exquisite 18th century
frescoes and paintings. The rooms have names like,
"La Saleta de la Reina," (the queen's
small room), "La Antecamera de Musica,"
(the music room), "El Oratorio," (the
oratory), "El Salon del Trono," (the throne
room).
One of the palace's main attractions is the Chinese
Porcelain Room. Every corner of its walls and domed
ceiling are covered with pieces of porcelain made
in the factory of Buen Retiro. These days the shutters
of the room are kept closed at all times to protect
the porcelain against strong daylight. The tour
continues through the ballroom, the banquet room,
the queen's bedroom, and the king's apartment.
Also worth visiting are the various gardens, and
the somewhat ironically named Casa del Labrador
(farmer's cottage). This miniature palace sums up
the greatness and refinement of the Bourbon dynasty.
The Neoclassical structure was designed by Isidro
Gonzalez Velazquez on a commission from King Charles
IV and Maria Luisa de Parma, his wife. The three-story
building was used principally for court parties.
Of note is the "Gabinete del Platino"
(platinum studio), which was for the queen's use
and features hardwood decoration covered with gold
and platinum.
EL ESCORIAL
More precisely the Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo
de El Escorial is severe, rectilinear and unforgiving
-- one of the biggest architectural monuments in
Europe. Some 30 miles northwest Madrid, it was built
during Spain's Golden Age by King Philip II to honor
the feast of St Lawrence having defeated the French
on the saint's feast day (August 10, 1557). The
architect Juan Bautista de Toledo designed the building,
but Juan de Herrera is credited with completing
it in 1584. After it was finished, the king used
to spend part of the year with the monks. His bedroom
had a window overlooking the monastery church.
A 30,000 squares meter structure, El Escorial is
divided into three connecting parts -- the monastery,
the palace, and the astonishing library. The enormous
stretch of the severely plain walls is broken only
by three entrances, with the main portal topped
by an Italianate pediment. The statistics guides
like to rattle off are mind boggling.: nine towers,
nine organs, 16 courtyards, 73 statues, 86 stairways,
88 fountains, 300 monks' cells, 1,200 windows, more
than 1,600 paintings, 830 Flemish or Spanish tapestries,
and 2,673 doors.
The kings of Spain are buried in the Pantheon de
los Reyes (Royal Pantheon) at the Escorial, their
bodies occupying most of the 26 sumptuous marble
and bronze sarcophagi that line the walls --with
three empty ones reserved for future monarchs. Queens
qualify for burial in the same mausoleum if they
bore sons who were later crowned.
The monastery library is a stunning hall housing
over 50,000 rare books and manuscripts, including
the diary of St Theresa of Avila, and to cap it
all -- literally - a ceiling painted by Pellegrino
Tibaldi, Michelangelo's student. In the palace,
room after room are hung with tapestries by Goya
and Rubens. The Museos Nuevos -- new museum -- contains
paintings by Velazquez, El Greco, David, Ribera,
Tintoretto, Rubens and a dozen other Old Masters.
The church, dedicated to St Lawrence has a fresco
of the saint's martyrdom painted by Titian, who
though a Venetian, worked for some years as a royal
painter in Madrid. The fresco shows St lawrence
being roasted alive. The rectilinear complex of
the Escorial, with its many internal courtyards,
is said to represent the grill on which St Lawrence
was martyred.
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