DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.70267#0115
ROYAL PALACE OF THE ESCURIAL.
95
The monastery, in which there are two hundred religious
monks, of the order of St. Jerome, consists of five courts or
squares, each of which is adorned with a marble fountain.
The grand cloister, which is 210 feet square, is paved with
black and white marble, as are likewise the walks of the
garden within it; and at the bottom of it is a beautiful cha-
pel in the form of a dome, open on albsides, and supported
by marble columns. The refectory or hall, where the re-
ligious take their meals, is very long, and adorned with fine
paintings; amongst which, there is one representing Charles
the Fifth and Philip the Second, carried to Heaven by
angels. There are several infirmaries for the sick belonging
to this monastery, two grand apartments to entertain stran-
gers, nine kitchens, above forty rooms under ground for
offices of divers kinds, and eleven vast cisterns, that will
hold 200 tons of water.
The college, where a number of young students are
maintained at the king’s expence, is a very handsome build-
ing; and the library is, in all respects, answerable to the
rest of this noble edifice. It contains a fine collection of
books in all languages and faculties, both printed and
manuscript, disposed in a very elegant manner. The floor
is beautifully paved with marble, and the ceiling adorned
with admirable paintings, representing the liberal arts and
sciences. The books, which are about 100,000, are placed
in five galleries, one above another, all finely painted by
Titian, and other celebrated masters.
But to give the reader some general idea of the sur-
prising grandeur of this palace, it must be observed, that,
according to F. Francisco de los Santos, who wrote a de-
scription of the Escurial in a large folio volume, it would
take up more than four days to go through all its rooms and
apartments; the length of the way being reckoned thirty-
three Spanish leagues, which is above 120 English miles;
and besides the many thousand windows in this vast pile,
Alvarez
95
The monastery, in which there are two hundred religious
monks, of the order of St. Jerome, consists of five courts or
squares, each of which is adorned with a marble fountain.
The grand cloister, which is 210 feet square, is paved with
black and white marble, as are likewise the walks of the
garden within it; and at the bottom of it is a beautiful cha-
pel in the form of a dome, open on albsides, and supported
by marble columns. The refectory or hall, where the re-
ligious take their meals, is very long, and adorned with fine
paintings; amongst which, there is one representing Charles
the Fifth and Philip the Second, carried to Heaven by
angels. There are several infirmaries for the sick belonging
to this monastery, two grand apartments to entertain stran-
gers, nine kitchens, above forty rooms under ground for
offices of divers kinds, and eleven vast cisterns, that will
hold 200 tons of water.
The college, where a number of young students are
maintained at the king’s expence, is a very handsome build-
ing; and the library is, in all respects, answerable to the
rest of this noble edifice. It contains a fine collection of
books in all languages and faculties, both printed and
manuscript, disposed in a very elegant manner. The floor
is beautifully paved with marble, and the ceiling adorned
with admirable paintings, representing the liberal arts and
sciences. The books, which are about 100,000, are placed
in five galleries, one above another, all finely painted by
Titian, and other celebrated masters.
But to give the reader some general idea of the sur-
prising grandeur of this palace, it must be observed, that,
according to F. Francisco de los Santos, who wrote a de-
scription of the Escurial in a large folio volume, it would
take up more than four days to go through all its rooms and
apartments; the length of the way being reckoned thirty-
three Spanish leagues, which is above 120 English miles;
and besides the many thousand windows in this vast pile,
Alvarez