Monastery of El Escorial

The Monastery of El Escorial is a vast building complex located in San Lorenzo de El Escorial,
50 kilometers away from Madrid, in central Spain. It has an area of 33,327 square metres, this
monument represents the ideological and cultural aspirations of the Spanish "Golden Age",
expressed here through an original synthesis of Italian and Flemish artistic forms at the behest of
King Philip II. Construction started in 1563 after King Philip II of Spain decided to build a
monument for the memory of his father, the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V. He wanted that
monument to also serve as a palace and monastery.

The building complex, severe in its lines, has four principal stories with large towers at each
corner. Arranged within a quadrangle, the buildings include: the church (1582); the monastery,
royal palace, and college (1584); and the library (1592).
Criterion (i): The Monastery and Site of the Escurial, Madrid,
represents a masterpiece of human creative genius, where the great
collective work of important artists were subject to the will and
orders of the historic figure of King Philip II.
Criterion (ii): The Monastery and Site of the Escurial expresses an
important interchange of human values, and symbolises the
ideological and artistic expression that influenced developments in
architecture, monumental arts, and landscape design during the
Spanish Golden Age. The architectural ensemble is an example of
the palace convents and their urban and landscape design built by
the European Christian monarchies Its final layout of the 18th
century makes it one of the most representative examples of the Real
Sitio – the courtiers’ residential town – developed by the monarchy as a seat and reflection of its
power.
Criterion (vi): The Monastery and Site of the Escurial, Madrid is directly associated with very
important historic personalities in European history and the world, such as the Holy Roman
Emperor Charles V and all his descendants from the House of Austria and the House of Bourbon
who occupied the Spanish throne, in particular Philip II. It embodied, in an exemplary way, the
ideology of the society and the austere pomp and ceremony with which its divine and worldly
majesty was represented.

ARCHITECTS:
• Juan Bautista de Toledo
On April 23, 1563, it was said planned by Juan Bautista de Toledo. Upon his death on the year
1567, it was continued and executed by Juan de Herrera marking his own architectural stamp in
"Herreriano" style.
He was a Spanish sculptor, mathematician, architect, and philosopher.
In 1547 he went to Rome and studied under the influence of
Michelangelo Buonarroti. He absorbed the essence of Renaissance
Architecture when he lived for sometime in Italy. 1562 he became
Architect to the Escorial, near Madrid, basing the grid-like ground-floor
plan on reconstructions of the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, and the
Court of the Evangelists on Sangallo's cortile in the Palazzo Farnese,
Rome. The plan is also an allusion to the attribute of St Laurence,
whose melted fat was enshrined in the great Church in the centre of the
whole ensemble. El Escorial's enormous external elevations are models
of restraint.

• Juan de Herrera
He was born in Mobellán(Santander) in 1530. In 1563 he carried out
his first architecture jobs with Juan Bautista de Toledo. He worked on
the monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial in 1567, and the façade
is attributed to him. He also modified and extended the old plans and
took part in the interior decoration of the church. He also made the
Evangelists' shrine (1590). The main façade of the Palace of Charles V
(Granada), the southern façade of the Alcázar fortress in Toledo and
the town hall in the same city are also his. In 1582 he was
commissioned the Archive of the Indies (Seville) and in 1585 he
designed Valladolid Cathedral, one of his best works. He died in 1593.
ARCHITECTURAL AND ENGINEERING DEFECTS:
The project was so complex that it took more than a decade to complete, and approximately a
thousand people worked on it during its peak construction period.