Architectural description
Palacio de la Granja de San Ildefonso
The complex is made up of the palace itself and a series of adjoining buildings, which give it a U-shape, with the Jardines del Medio Punto, where different trees of huge exotic coniferous species such as sequoias or firs of more than 300 years that were given to the king. The palace, in the front part of the complex, consists of two patios, that of the Coaches, on the left, and that of the Horseshoe, on the right. Attached to the palace is the former chapel of the monarch, the Royal Collegiate Church of the Holy Trinity, which in turn contains a space known as the Chapel of the Relics and the Royal Cenotaph. However, King Felipe V and his second wife, Isabel de Farnesio, are not buried here, but their remains rest in a crypt located behind the main altar.
The royal pantheon of San Ildefonso was the first manifestation in Spain of Roman funerary art of the 17th century, in combination with French art. It served as a reference model for the tombs of Fernando VI and Barbara de Braganza in the Convent of the Salesas Reales (Madrid).
Perpendicular to the palace, on the left, is a room known as the Old House of the Ladies. Today it houses the Tapestry Museum, where a collection of Flemish tapestries is exhibited, of enormous size and varied iconography, made in honor of King Carlos I of Spain. On the left side of the square there is another room connected to the main building, known as Casa de los Oficios.
Another of the buildings in the palatial complex is the so-called Casa de las Flores, with a total area of 655 m².
The interior of the Palace is profoundly baroque with beautiful frescoes on the ceilings and gold polychrome wood moldings. The impressive glass lamps made in the Royal Glass Factory of La Granja also stand out.
