Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso

Declared a Monumental Historical set, it is one of the best samples of the monarchic splendor of the 18th century. Philip V, the first Bourbon to reign in Spain, fell in love with this beautiful place back in 1717. Such was the "flechazo" who decided to raise there a palace and gardens adorned with sculptures and fountains that would remind him of his childhood in the French court of his grandfather Louis XIV. In the Middle Ages, the kings of Castile, who often lived in Segovia, used as hunting sites the forests located at the foot of the mountains of Guadalrama, and in particular the area of Valsain. The successive kings continued to use the Segovia pinears as recreational areas and it was so that, in 1717, Philip V fell in love with the beauty and cynetic wealth of the place. In 1720 he bought from the Synonyms his farm from San Ildefonso to make it a new Royal Site where he could withdraw. He charged the works of the palace to Teodoro Ardemans and those of the gardens to René Carlier. The traditional Spanish style of the first architect contrasted with the radical French of the second, disciple of the architect of Louis XIV. The works advanced very quickly, so that the kings could settle here in 1723. On January 10, 1724, Philip V announced in San Ildefonso that he abdicated his son Louis I, but his premature death in August of that same year forced the "Father King" to return to the throne. The Royal Site had to be adapted to this change as the residence of a former sovereign became the Royal Site of the reigning monarch. The Palace, initially of modest dimensions, had to be expanded, and so was the garden at the expense of the park, adding new and more spectacular sources. When in 1736 the architect Filippo Juvarra came to Spain, the kings commissioned him a new façade on the central axis of the garden, completed already by his disciple Giambattista Sacchetti. The architectural set of the palace is very Italian and of great density due to all these phases built in such a short time. PALACE VISIT The rooms of the palace currently open to the public correspond to the old royal apartments, located on the two floors that open to the eastern façade. Although the palace suffered a devastating fire in 1918 it still retains almost all the fresco decorations of the time of Philip V. On the main floor are the private rooms of the Kings, including the Portrait Gallery, the Dormitory of Sus Majestades, the Lacas Hall or the Mirror Cabinet. Unlike the upper, more intimate floor, the rooms on the lower floor of the palace will draw your attention to its most representative and fasteful decoration. Each of them is named after the fresco painting that decorates its vault. We have the Hall of Hercules, the Hall of Justice, the Fountain of the Galatea or the spectacular Hall of Marbles or of Europe (Link to text on Hall of Marbles) In addition to visiting the royal dependencies, you cannot stop visiting the Museum of Tapices and the royal chapel or Collegiata, built by Ardemans and redecorated by Francisco Sabatini under Carlos III. THE GRANJA IN THE HISTORY OF FRANCE AND SPAIN As relevant as the palace were for Philip V the gardens, in which he put great effort. The gardens of the Royal Site of La Granja are the best example in Spain from garden to formal to French, a modality that began to spread throughout Europe at the end of the 17th, following the popularity of the creations of André Le Nôtre, gardener of Louis XIV, the famous "Rey Sol." The Palace of Versailles is the best known and admired example of the formal garden of the Baroque, but Philip V never intended to emulate in La Granja the vast monarchic stage of his grandfather, Louis XIV. It was always clear that his retirement place would look like another less well-known garden than Versailles, since the Revolution dismantled him: that of Marly, where the "Sun King" spent his rest days. The abundance of water, coming from the mountain, was one of the greatest attractions of the place for Philip V, as it allowed it to fill the garden with spectacular water games. Its original hydraulic system is perfectly preserved, so much so, that they are still in operation today. And the best of all is that we can all enjoy this magnificent show!

Phone:+34921470019

Latitude:40.897746·Longitude:-4.004789