Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso
Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso | |
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Palacio Real de La Granja de San Ildefonso | |
General information | |
Architectural style | Rococo |
Location | Real Sitio de San Ildefonso (Segovia), Spain |
Construction started | 1721 |
Opened | Exclusive property for the monarch: 1724 |
Management | Patrimonio Nacional |
Technical details | |
Size | 25,000 square metres (270,000 sq ft) |
Grounds | 146 hectares (360 acres) of gardens |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Teodoro Ardemans |
Official name | Palacio de San Ildefonso con sus dependencias y Jardines |
Type | Non-movable |
Criteria | Monument |
Designated | 11 August 1925 |
Reference no. | RI-51-0000314 |
Official name | Jardines del Palacio de San Ildefonso |
Type | Non-movable |
Criteria | Historic Garden |
Designated | 3 June 1931 |
Reference no. | RI-52-0000002 |
The Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso (Spanish: Palacio Real de La Granja de San Ildefonso), known as La Granja, is an early 18th-century palace in the small town of
It became the summer residence of the
History
The area was a favourite hunting grounds for many
Palace
The site was purchased from the monks in 1719 by King
For the architect, Philip began with an unpretentious project by the Spanish architect
When the King decided to abdicate in 1724, his intention was to retire to La Granja. Unfortunately Philip's heir,
The church was selected as his burial site by Philip, marking a break with his Habsburg predecessors. The frescoes by
Philip's successor
For the next one hundred and twenty years, La Granja was the court's main summer palace, and many royal weddings and burials, state treaties, and political events took place within its walls. However, from the 1880's the court preferred to sojourn at the seaside palaces in the Basque Country and the royal site became rarely used. In 1918 a major fire damaged the palace and although the damage was repaired much of the interior decoration and contents were lost.
Currently the royal site is part the Patrimonio Nacional of Spain, which holds and maintains many of the Crown's lands and palaces.[5] It is a popular tourist attraction, with gardens, and interiors displaying rooms with marble from Carrara, Japanese lacquer, and crystal chandeliers; portraits and other paintings; and a Museum of Flemish tapestries.[6]
Gardens
Extending over 1,500 acres (6.1 km2), the gardens around the palace are one of the best examples of 18th-century European garden design in the Jardin à la française style in Spain.[7] The French designer from the official French royal offices of Robert de Cotte was René Carlier,[8] who used the natural slope of the site in the palace grounds design, for enhancing axial visual perspectives, and to provide sufficient head for water to shoot out/up from the twenty-six sculptural fountains in the formal gardens and landscape park.
Sculptors arrived from Paris to execute designs on the site. They included: René Frémin (1672–1744, at La Granja until 1738), to whom the execution of many vases and sculptures was attributed in 18th-century inventories; Jean Thierry; and others who are little more than names in archival references.
Fountains
All of the fountains represent themes from classical
The "Baths of Diana" fountain is the focal point of several garden alleés, and was made from lead and then painted to look like bronze and marble. It and its marble statues form some of the most impressive and well conserved architecture from this period in Spain. Fremin, Thierry, and Bousseau led a team of sculptors who between 1720 and 1745 created this stunning feature, brought to life by the fountains' spectacular water displays. However, regarding the elaborate "Baths of Diana", the chronically depressed Philip remarked, "It has cost me three millions and amused me three minutes."
The original waterworks and piping are still functional. They rely purely on gravity to project water up the fountain jets, including to the 40 metres (130 ft) height of the "Fame" fountain. A reservoir, El Mar (the Sea), lies secluded at the highest point of the landscape park, and provides the supply and water pressure for the whole system. In spite of the protests of the royal accountant, in 1736 twelve dromedaries were sent from the Royal Palace of Aranjuez to help in the works of the reservoir. The last one died in 1740.[11]
In the present day, only a few fountains are active on each day. Twice a year, on the feast days of
Gallery
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La Granja facade at Patio de la Herradura.
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Fountains and Patio de Coches facade.
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Fountain in the gardens of La Granja.
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Facade detail.
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Sphinx on rear terrace at La Granja.
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El Mar (The Sea)
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Patio de la Herradura courtyard
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Print of La Granja palace and gardens in 1873.
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Royal chapel at La Granja.
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Fountain and music temple in gardens.
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Interior of Retreat Room.
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Funerary Monument of KingElizabeth Farnese, by Dumandre & Puthois.
See also
- List of Baroque residences
- Buildings inspired by Versailles
- Gardens in Spain
References
- Maria Luisa of Savoy from the House of Savoy, the great patrons of Juvarra, but the court style during her lifetime was resolutely French
- ^ Yves Bottineau, L'Art de Cour dans l'Espagne de Philippe V 1700-1746 (Bordeaux, 1965) sets the construction of La Granja in the broader context of court art.
- ^ Frank Gibson, "La Granja Glass" The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs 39 No. 225 (December 1921), pp. 304, 308-309.
- ^ Xavier Bray, "The Iconography of Francisco Bayeu's Frescoes for the Colegiata at La Granja de San Ildefonso" The Burlington Magazine 139 No. 1133 (August 1997, pp. 543-547), p. 543; José Manuel de la Mano, "Tiepolo's Commission for the Collegiate Church of the Holy Trinity at La Granja de San Ildefonso" The Burlington Magazine 139 No. 1133 (August 1997), pp. 536-543)
- ^ Patrimonio Nacional: Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso Archived 2016-01-27 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Spain.info: La Granja de San Ildefonso Royal Palace
- ^ Patrimonio Nacional: Gardens of the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso Archived 2016-01-27 at the Wayback Machine, "History" tab.
- ^ Carlier died in 1722, having laid out the main structural features, it is assumed. Esteban Boutelou continued in his place. The main source for information on the gardens is still Jeanne Digard, Les jardins de la Granja et la sculpture décorative (Paris) 1934.
- Bibliothèque Nationale. The discovery in Spain of an Oppenord sketchbook of iconography opens the possibility that Oppenord travelled to Spain. (Pons 337, note 7)
- ^ Pons 1989:340.
- ISSN 1576-7914. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
External links
- Patrimonio Nacional: Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso website
- Spain is culture.com: Gardens at La Granja de San Ildefonso
- Musique09.free.fr: Photographs of Palacio La Granja de San Ildefonso
40°53′51″N 4°00′16″W / 40.89750°N 4.00444°W
Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso.