Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso

THE ROYAL SITE, PHILIP V´S RETREAT

In the Middle Ages, the kings of Castile, who often resided in Segovia, were already using the forests at the foot of the Guadarrama mountains and in particular the area of Valsaín as hunting grounds. Successive kings continued to use the pine forests of Segovia as recreational areas and this was what led Philip V to fall in love with the beauty and rich hunting of the area in 1717.

In 1720 he bought the San Ildefonso farm from the Hieronymites to make this into a new Royal Site where he could retire. He entrusted the work on the palace to Theodore Ardemans and the work on the gardens to René Carlier. The traditional Spanish style of the first architect contrasted with the radically French style of the second, a disciple of the architect of Louis XIV. Work progressed very quickly, and the kings were able to settle here in 1723.

On 10 January, 1724, Philip V announced at San Ildefonso that he was abdicating the throne, making his son Louis I king, but Louis' premature death in August of the same year forced the retired king to return to the throne. The Royal Site also had to adapt to this change, as it went from being the residence of a former sovereign to becoming the favourite Royal Site of the reigning monarch. The Palace, initially of modest dimensions, had to be extended, and so did the gardens, at the expense of the parkland, adding new and more spectacular fountains.

When architect Filippo Juvarra came to Spain in 1736, the king and queen commissioned him to build a new façade aligned with the central line of the garden, already completed by his disciple Giambattista Sacchetti. The architectural complex of the palace is very Italian and very dense as a result of all these phases built in such a short time.

 

VISITING THE PALACE

The rooms of the palace currently open to the public correspond to the former royal apartments, located on the two floors that open onto the east face. Although the palace suffered a devastating fire in 1918, it still retains almost all the fresco decorations from the time of Philip V.

On the main floor are the private rooms of the King and Queen, amongst which the Portrait Gallery, Their Majesties' Bedroom, the Hall of Lacquers and the Room of Mirrors stand out.

Unlike the more intimate upper floor, the rooms on the ground floor of the palace will catch your eye with their more representative and lavish decoration. Each of them is named after the fresco that decorates its vaulted ceiling. There's the Hall of Hercules, the Hall of Justice, the La Galatea Fountain and the spectacular Hall of Marble or Hall of Europe (Link to text on the Hall of Marble)

As well as visiting the royal quarters, don't miss the Tapestry Museum and the royal chapel or Collegiate Church, built by Ardemans and redecorated by Francisco Sabatini under Charles III.

 

LA GRANJA IN THE HISTORY OF FRENCH AND SPANISH GARDENS

For Philip V, the gardens were just as important as the palace, which is why he put a great deal of effort into them. The gardens of the Royal Site of La Granja are the best example in Spain of formal gardens in the French style, a style that began to spread throughout Europe at the end of the 17th century, following the popularity of the creations of André Le Nôtre, the gardener of Louis XIV, the famous "Sun King".

The Palace of Versailles is the best-known and most admired example of the formal gardens of the Baroque era, but Philip V never intended to emulate the vast monarchical setting of his grandfather, Louis XIV, at La Granja. It was always clear to him that his place of retreat would resemble another lesser-known garden than Versaillies, as the Revolution dismantled it: that of Marly, where the "Sun King" spent his days of rest.

The abundance of water from the mountain was one of the greatest attractions of the place for Philip V, because it allowed him to fill the garden with spectacular water features. The original hydraulics are so well preserved that they are still in use today, and the best thing is that we can all enjoy this magnificent show!