Historic residence of the King of Spain - Monastery and Site of the Escurial, Madrid 318
What and Why
El Escorial is a massive and elegant Spanish royal sites (Spanish: reales sitios) and functioned as a monastery, basilica, royal palace, pantheon, library, museum, university, school and hospital throughout its time. Commissioned by Philip II (Felipe II, né Felipe de Habsburg (Spanish)) with the intention of demonstrating the power of Spain's (España) monarchy together with its manifestation of the nation's role as a centre of the Christian world, the complex has profound influence on future Spanish architecture.
Toponymy
San Lorenzo comes from the Battle of Saint Quentin (Batalla de San Quintín) in the mid-16th century CE, which was won by the Spanish side on Saint Lawrence Day, 10th August. Saint Lawrence (Latin: Laurentius) was one of the martyred deacons of Rome (Italian: Roma).
See
The building forms almost a perfect squarish floor-plan based on the biblical Solomon's Temple (Hebrew: בֵּית־הַמִּקְדָּשׁ, Beit Ha-Miqdash). The current complex, as in other heritage buildings, has been converted to a museum with a linear walking tour that begins in the western facade.
Upon entry and following the corridor, one will immediately be led and attracted by the fabulous Gardens of the Friars (El Jardín de los Frailes). This was commissioned by Philip II as he was a great naturalist.
Another view of the courtyard.
A number of artefacts for exhibition.
Another view of the garden.
The first major centrepiece within the complex, which is right at the centre is the Gothic-styled Basilica at the Courtyard of the Kings (Patio de los Reyes).
The highlight of the basilica is the extremely lavishly decorated altarpiece.
From there one can exit the complex through the main portal, although this portal now only leads to the basilica.
From the main portal, one can reach the other impressive feature of the complex: the library. The library is itself a personal book collection of Philip II, but clearly one's eyes will only go to the very impressive 16th century CE frescoes.
The next star-feature must be the Royal Pantheon, which is the final resting room containing the remains of the kings and queens regnant of the Habsburg and Bourbon dynasties.
As in other palaces, much of the staterooms are now converted to a museum and a gallery. Amongst the many rooms the most impressive is definitely the War Room (Sala de Batallas), which is a long corridor of various exceptionally large fresco paintings depicting the important Spanish military victories.
Eat and Drink
Suckling pig (Cochinillo asado)
Spanish suckling pig (cochinillo asado) is moist and juicy, unlike our Hong Kong (Chinese: 香港) counterpart and is very similar to the Filipino counterpart, blogged in Manila (Maynilà). The Spanish version use young piglets to emphasise the tenderness of the meat. The key difference, is the Chinese style focuses on the crispiness of the skin and literally you discard the whole body and carcass. The Spanish pig must be eaten in its entirety, with emphasis on the succulence of the meat and its flavouring. The Hong Kong roast is mainly spiced up by soy sauce, mostly placing emphasis on the skin while the Spanish one is flavoured by herbs and woodfire, ensuring the whole pig is evenly flavoured.
Since we stayed in Madrid (as blogged in Madrid), we did not realise we are staying near a world record! Sobrino de Botín is officially the oldest existing restaurant in the world, serving its patrons since 1725 CE, which can be attested by the Guinness certificate! In spite of the celebrated status of this shop, the restaurant is really cozy, modest and friendly and there's nothing unreachable about this place. A restaurant of this stature back home or any other place, probably demands more respect, and might only accept certain clienteles with their nose up. There was nothing like this here and truly it was another positive experience that I must add.
Getting There and Around
The site is an hour bus ride from Madrid main terminus. The entrance fee to the residence is EUR 7.5€. San Lorenzo de El Escoril serves as an excellent day-trip from Madrid.
UNESCO Inscription
Built at the end of the 16th century on a plan in the form of a grill, the instrument of the martyrdom of St Lawrence, the Escurial Monastery stands in an exceptionally beautiful site in Castile. Its austere architecture, a break with previous styles, had a considerable influence on Spanish architecture for more than half a century. It was the retreat of a mystic king and became, in the last years of Philip II's reign, the centre of the greatest political power of the time.
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