To finish the post for Day 8 of our trip I wanted to comment on the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial first.
Philip II used this Royal Site for his family pantheon. The building was completed in 1584. It is built in granite and divided into three areas. The central area is the Kings’ Courtyard. There is a tower at each of its four corners measuring 180 feet high, each crowned by a metal sphere. The church is laid out in the shape of a Greek cross and the funerary monuments to Charles V and Philip II can be seen in the main chapel.
El Escorial was both a Spanish royal palace and a monastery, although Philip II is the only monarch who ever lived in the main building. Established with a community of Hieronymite monks, it has become a monastery of the Order of Saint Augustine. It was also a boarding school: the Real Colegio de Alfonso XII.
The first thing one sees upon arriving at El Escorial is the main, west façade, which has three doors: the middle one leads to the Courtyard of the Kings and the side ones lead to a school and to a monastery. Above the center door is a niche where the image of Saint Lawrence has been placed. The Courtyard of the Kings owes its name to the statues of the Kings of Judah that adorn the façade of the Basilica, located at the east end of the courtyard. Steps of red marble lead to the large, public chapel, past the narthex, with is one of the highlights of the basilica. The basilica has a floor in the shape of a Greek cross and an enormous dome, inspired by St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, above the crossing.
Under the royal chapel of the Basilica is the Royal Pantheon crypt. This is the place of burial for the kings of Spain. It is an octagonal Baroque mausoleum made of marble where all of the Spanish monarchs since Charles I have been buried, with the exception of Philip V, Ferdinand VI, and Amadeus of Savoy. The remains of Juan de Borbon, father of King Juan Carlos I of Spain, also rest in this pantheon despite the fact that he never became king himself. The enclosure is presided over by an altar of veined marble, and the sarcophagi are bronze and marble. There is also the Pantheon of the Princes, where the bodies of the queens who did not have a crowned succession and the princes and princesses were laid to rest. This part was built in the nineteenth century.
Situated next to the main altar of the Basilica, the residence of King Philip II consists of a series of austerely decorated rooms. It features a window from which the king could observe mass from his bed when incapacitated by the gout that afflicted him.
There is a Hall of Battles – Fresco paintings here depict the most important Spanish military victories. These include a medieval victory over the Moors, as well as several of Philip’s campaigns against the French.
So who was Saint Lorenzo? We would know him as Saint Lawrence.
Lawrence encountered the future Pope Sixtus II, who was of Greek origin and one of the most famous and highly esteemed teachers. Eventually, both left Spain for Rome. When Sixtus became the Pope in 257, he ordained Lawrence as a deacon, and though Lawrence was still young appointed him first among the seven deacons who served in the Catholic church. He is therefore called “archdeacon of Rome”, a position of great trust that included the care of the treasury and riches of the Church and the distribution of alms to the indigent.
St Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, notes that Roman authorities had established a norm according to which all Christians who had been denounced must be executed and their goods confiscated by the Imperial treasury. At the beginning of August 258, the Emperor Valerian issued an edict that all bishops, priests, and deacons should immediately be put to death. Pope Sixtus II was captured on 6 August 258, at the cemetery of St Callixtus while celebrating the liturgy and executed forthwith.
After the death of Sixtus, the prefect of Rome demanded that Lawrence turn over the riches of the Church. St Ambrose is the earliest source for the narrative that Lawrence asked for three days to gather the wealth. He worked swiftly to distribute as much Church property to the indigent as possible, so as to prevent its being seized by the prefect. As deacon in Rome, Lawrence was responsible for the material goods of the Church and the distribution of alms to the poor. Ambrose of Milan relates that when the treasures of the Church were demanded of Lawrence by the prefect of Rome, he brought forward the poor, to whom he had distributed the treasure as alms. “Behold in these poor persons the treasures which I promised to show you; to which I will add pearls and precious stones, those widows and consecrated virgins, which are the Church’s crown.” The prefect was so angry that he had a great gridiron prepared with hot coals beneath it, and had Lawrence placed on it, hence Lawrence’s association with the gridiron. After the martyr had suffered pain for a long time, the legend concludes, he cheerfully declared: “I’m well done on this side. Turn me over!”
On 10 August, Lawrence, the last of the seven deacons, and therefore, the ranking Church official, suffered a martyr’s death.
This is the reason that throughout the site you will see a grill. Looking at the picture above you will notice the grills above the door and the statue of San Lorenzo holding a grill.
After we returned from this morning trip, we had a quick lunch and a sort rest (30 min) and back out to meet up with Juanjo our tour director for and afternoon walk in Old Town. You can not drive in the old town, but we did take the bus to there to start our walk.
Gloria said we had to continue our scientific experiment to find out how the different areas of Spain do in the hot chocolate and churro taste test. It is still on going. Hope to find one in Granada.
And now I can say I finished yesterday’s adventure. But now it is too late to post today’s as it is almost tomorrow. So I will be running a day behind, sorry to say.
Buenas noches.
Postcards from Sue and friends 