Situated twenty-seven miles from Madrid is the village and palace of Escorial. The Escorial is a most extraordinary building. Many of the Spanish people regard it as the eighth wonder of the world. It is a fitting memorial of the cold, cruel monarch who built it. It is related that Philip II constructed the Escorial in fulfilment of a vow, made during the battle of St. Quentin, which took place on Saint Lawrence’s day, August 10, 1557. King Philip declared that he would, in case of victory, erect a memorial building to Saint Lawrence that would transcend any structure of its kind that had ever been built before.
THE LEANING TOWER OF SARAGOSSA
GRANADA AND THE ALHAMBRA
The Alhambra occupies the plateau of the Monte de la Assabria. This wonderful building was begun by Mohammed I, who was the originator of the motto “Walâ ghâliba ill’ Allâhta âlà” (there is no conqueror but the Most High God), which is so conspicuous among the inscriptions of the Alhambra.
Saint Lawrence, it will be remembered, was burned to death on a gridiron, and it is said that, in memorial of this, the structure of the Escorial was planned to resemble a gridiron in form. There is nothing authoritative to substantiate this tradition, however. It is simply the story that goes with the place. This monstrous building was begun in 1563 and was completed in 1584. It is a monastery and a palace at the same time. Its vastness overwhelms the mind. At first sight you are awed by the solemn, stern, and forbidding aspect of the building, and this first impression is deepened after going through the immense courts, corridors, and chambers. It has but little ornament to relieve its severity. It is the work of a morbid and superstitious man. As one visitor has put it, “Philip was the proudest among kings and the most bigoted among devotees. What wonder that he should build a convent and palace and make its costliest room his sepulcher!”
The Escorial staggers description. Perhaps an adequate idea of it may be had from a brief statement of facts. It cost three and one-quarter million dollars, and covers 500,000 square feet. It is 700 feet long, 580 feet wide, and is divided into sixteen courts. The great towers at the corners rise 200 feet. The main cupola or tower above the church, in the center, is 320 feet in height. When we add that there are 86 staircases, 89 fountains, 15 cloisters, 1,200 doors, 2,600 windows, and miles of corridors, we sum up in a measure the astounding dimensions of this wonderful structure.
PALACIO DE GENERALIFE, GRANADA