Royal Palace of Aranjuez
The Royal Palace of Aranjuez is one of the official residences of the Spanish royal family. It is located in the town of Aranjuez, Spain. Established in the 16th century as a royal hunting lodge, the palace was built by order of Philip II. Under his reign it became one of four seasonal seats of the court along Rascafría, El Escorial and the Royal Alcázar of Madrid. The royal estate comprises a set of landscaped and ornate gardens and woodlands that house an extensive botanical collection.
Several international treaties were signed there and several members of the royal family died in the palace, including: Elisabeth of Valois in 1568, Barbara of Portugal in 1758, Elisabeth Farnese in 1766, Maria Antonia of Naples in 1806, Maria Isabel of Braganza in 1818 and Maria Josepha Amalia of Saxony in 1828.
In 1931, during the Second Spanish Republic, the royal estate was declared an Artistic Historical Monument and opened to the public. From 1977 to 1983, the palace served as a state guest house. The palace, gardens and associated buildings are part of the Aranjuez Cultural Landscape, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001. Currently it houses a museum on the ground floor, the royal rooms and gardens are open to the public and its management is entrusted to the public agency Patrimonio Nacional.
History
In the 12th century the Order of Santiago created an exclusive hunting reserve alongside the river Tagus near its junction with the river Jarama.Its history as a royal site began in the 16th century, when the order's grandmaster Lorenzo I Suárez de Figueroa directed the construction of a grand hunting lodge designed for the recreation of members of the order and their royal and noble patrons, known as the Raso de Estrella The site today is an open festival park.
In 1523 Charles I of Spain took possession of the area, which was designated Real Bosque y Casa de Aranjuez, in order to entertain his guests during the springtime hunting season.
In 1551, he established a botanical garden to catalog the newly catalogued species of plants brought from the Americas. Owing to distractions elsewhere, this mission was not entirely successful.
Philip II became aware of the fertile meadows of Aranjuez, and designated that a portion of land to the north of the river Tagus should be devoted to pottager and general agriculture in 1561.
In an adjacent plot to the south of the river, the King began construction of the first palace, on the same site as the existing building. Philip engaged the services of architect Juan Bautista de Toledo and later Juan de Herrera. They were also responsible for the palace and monastery of El Escorial.
The site also included exotic animals such as dromedaries : about 10 in 1583 and about 40 in 1598.
After Philip's death in 1598, the works were still in progress with only the royal apartments, the chapel, the south tower and part of the western facade completed. An economic and political crisis, along with eventual extinction of the Spanish Hapsburg dynasty, resulted in the project being abandoned. Prince Charles of England visited the palace in 1623 during his trip to Spain for the "Spanish Match".
In 1700, the first Bourbon king of Spain, Philip V, decided to resume the work, intending to make Aranjuez a rival to the grand palace of Versailles. Subsequently, this imposing style would be applied to the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso. Philip V added a new north tower, completed the west façade and defined the structure that would shape the current palace. The royal dromedaries were about 200, surviving even the occupation of the palace by the troops of Archduke Charles in 1710. They were not kept in a menagerie as in Versalles, but grazed around or were employed as beasts of burden. Bulls and exotic animals were also used in the royal pastimes, such as dumping them into the Ontígola reservoir to be shot by the royal musket. Little used, the palace was almost destroyed by fire in 1748.
Ferdinand VI rebuilt the palace. Although still respecting the original foundations, the new structure was to reflect the prevailing late baroque style and 18th century aesthetic, of an imposing and ostentatious exterior accommodating a series of sumptuously furnished spaces within.
Farinelli directed musical entertainment.
The building is mainly due to Charles III in his reforming work for the capital city and modernization of the Spanish state.
The architect of the modern palace was the Italian Francesco Sabatini. He designed the two west wings, which provide the main building enclosing the courtyard, thus defining three sides of the cour d'honneur square that faces the original entrance. It is near the Raso de Estrella at the confluence of the two rivers. At one end of this complex was the chapel and opposite was designated as a theater, although it was never completed.
The decoration was enriched in the 18th and 19th centuries with paintings by various artists; in the halls hardwood furniture and several collections of tapestries, clocks, lamps and sculptures were installed. Many of these unique pieces adorn the halls, chambers and spaces. The Salón de Porcelana was the favorite retreat of Charles III.
Charles III took refuge there from Spanish politics for some time following the Esquilache Riots. He chose Aranjuez to be his spring and summer residence at a period of history when the royal court used to move from Madrid in the spring and did not return to the capital until October.
The King embraced physiocracy. Charles, who enjoyed the palace and its rural environment, established the Cortijo de San Isidro as an experimental farm and divided the palace gardens into the intimate Jardín del Parterre and the wider Jardín de la Isla. He held lavish parties and sometimes sailed along stretches of the Tagus in rich artistically decorated and gilded pleasure barge.
Charles' son, Charles IV and his wife Maria Luisa of Parma erected a pavilion known as the Casa del Labrador, which is today open to the public and an important example of European Neoclassical architecture.
In 1807, Manuel Godoy, favorite of Charles IV's and Spanish prime minister, tried to make peace with Napoleonic France but faced the opposition of the rebellious heir to the throne Ferdinand. Godoy claimed that the kingdom was safe from the impending Napoleonic French invasion because of the treaties he had facilitated. In 1808, while Godoy was a resident in Aranjuez the rumor of invasion spread, resulting in an angry mob led by the rebellious supporters of Ferdinand finding him hiding in an attic. He was taken prisoner and later exiled. As a result of the successful Mutiny of Aranjuez in March of that year the palace Salón del Trono witnessed the abdication of King Charles IV in favor of his son Ferdinand VII, who himself abdicated in May.
In September 1808, in a formal ceremony held in the Chapel of the Royal Palace of Aranjuez before Monsignor Don Juan de la Vera, the Archbishop of Laodicea, the Supreme, central Junta was officially constituted.
After the Bourbon Restoration, Alfonso XII designated the Royal Palace of Aranjuez to be the residence of the noble household of the dukes of Montpensier. His bride to be was the daughter of that family, Mercedes of Orléans. In 1878 the bride and her entourage arrived for the ceremony from Madrid at an imposing but temporary railway station constructed near the grand Plaza de Armas entrance to the Palace of Aranjuez.
This was the last grand event to be held in Aranjuez, as Maria Christina of Austria the monarch's second wife, his son Alfonso XIII and his wife Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg all preferred the Palacio de la Magdalena and Miramar Palace for their royal holidays.
Design
The palace is the centerpiece set of a royal estate. To the north are former potager gardens, now agricultural land intersected by geometric tree-lined "royal rides" which are now open to the public and mostly pedestrian walkways. To the east are a trident of paved roads along which the nobility erected family residences. To the west are a matching trident of rural tracks, one of which was the royal access road lined by barracks.Furthest from the palace is an open area, the Raso de Estrella, the site of the original hunting lodge and now a festival ground. The original railway station was also here, before it was relocated further west of the current site. Some of the former railway sidings – now a car park for commuters – are also still discernible. Directly in front of the palace is the oval lawn surrounded by monumental stone benches. The tourist mini-train stop is near there. To the south is the Plaza de Parejas, an open sandy area surrounded by various palace dependencies described below.
Plaza de Parejas
The south of the palace is a large open square known as Plaza de las Parejas in reference to equestrian events formerly held there..It is defined on the east by a Renaissance style two-story building, which was the auxiliary dependence of the palace. To the west a warehouse area, servant halls and a separate kitchen-house. In front – facing the palace is the Casa del Principe de Paz, intended to be the residence of Manuel Godoy.
The palace consists of two floors. The ground level is lit by windows crowned by semicircular arches, while the upper floor opens onto balconies with iron railings. The central body of the palace rises to a third level surmounted by a pediment bearing the shield of Ferdinand VI. At the sides of the shield are engraved two inscriptions. The left one reads "Philippus II / Institvit / Philippus V / provexit". The right one reads " Ferdinandu / VI Pius Felix / Consummavit / An MDCCLII".
Structure
The entire structure is built in red brick with white limestone details from Colmenar de Oreja.Entrance
Public access is to the east, via the M-305 road and boat-bridge. For royalty, the traditionally formal access to the Palace is to cross the river Tagus by the road to the west near the confluence and then travel eastwards, entering via the Plaza de Armas and through the portico of the central body.The central rise in the elevation of the building is to emphasise the main portico that is framed by five symmetrical exterior arches. On the ledge are statues carved by Pedro Martinengo portraying Philip II, Philip V and Ferdinand VI.
On either side of the portico, the wings have three grand terminal arches to further emphasise the grandeur of this royal access. Above the portico is a large balcony with stone parapets overlooking the courtyard.
The portico provides access to the interior through a hall that in turn leads to a grand central staircase made by Giacomo Bonavía at the behest of Ferdinand VI. The balustrade is of black iron with gold trim and fits within the Rococo trend. From the ceiling hangs an Empire style large chandelier gilt bronze and crystal from La Granja.
Interior
Behind the palace's main body is an interior courtyard around which are distributed the various halls. In both corners can be seen two small towers surmounted by domes resting on shallow circular drums with small windows that illuminate the interior, in one of which is set a clock.The lobby is decorated with sculptures and on the top floor are three marble busts inside alcoves representing Louis XIV of France, his wife Maria Theresa of Spain and their son Louis, the Grand Dauphin. These busts were made in 1683 by French sculptor Antoine Coysevox. The presence of these three French characters in the palace is explained by the connections to the Spanish Royal Bourbon family with the French monarchy and particularly The Grand Dauphin who was the father of Philip V and his parents, the grandparents of Philip.
In almost all halls of are clocks of all sizes and characteristics, as King Charles IV was a collector of clocks and an Horologer.