Arriving at El Escorial

The day dawned very early. A glitch in the area’s electricity network had cut off power and air conditioning to the hotel from 1:00 in the morning. As the windows could not be opened, and fans were unavailable, and it was summer in Spain, it was sweltering. I woke up early. I wanted this day to be perfect so I could mentally prepare to go to El Escorial and feast my eyes on the Book of Games. 

But it was not to be. Everything went wrong this morning, just like it usually does when you plan too much. But it didn’t matter. Nothing would shake my spirits. I was hoping to see the Book of Games commissioned by Alfonso X of Castille in 1283

I got into my taxi to go to El Escorial. It took about an hour to get there. I gazed out of the window but honestly my brain registered nothing. My driver signalled me that we would soon reach the site, and I shook myself out of my reverie. The roads were narrow and bordered by beautiful homes and I imagined what it would be like living so close to this historic site. Would it soon become normal or mundane or would the magic always exist? Soon we pulled up and with trembling hands I picked up my camera and stepped out and slowly entered the doors of El Escorial.

El Escorial was the historic residence of the King of Spain and was built between 1563 and 1584. This austere location, hardly an obvious choice for the site of a royal palace, was chosen by King Philip II of Spain, and it was he who ordained the building of a grand edifice here.

King Phillip II’s goal was to have a princely mansion in a wooded countryside, while also being architecturally different from most buildings that were being commissioned at the time. One of Phillip II’s personal aspirations was to be a monk and a monarch, and this would come to influence the design. The Escorial would come to be so iconic that the design of the building became a new architectural style of Spanish renaissance architecture, known as the Herrerian style.

While all this was of academic interest, I merely gazed up at the towering edifice in awe. It made me feel small and insignificant and yet somehow overwhelmed me with a sense of wonder. But Today I was not a tourist. I was here as a researcher, so I made my way to the library to seek out the Book of Games.