Los jardines de la Granja de San Ildefonso: Felipe V entre Marly y Versalles

Abstract

The construction of the royal seat of La Granja de San Ildefonso began in 1720, when Philip V acquired the possession called “Granja de San Ildefonso”, set in a unique landscape at the foot of the Guadarrama mountains, from the monks of the Order of St Jerome. This property had belonged to the kings of Castile: Henry IV, who hunted there, had a hermitage built in 1450 dedicated to the saints. Years later, in 1477, the Catholic kings gave it to the Monastery of Saint Mary of Parral, of the Order of St Jerome, in Segovia, who converted it into a recreation “granja” (grange). The Palace of la Granja is a complicated building due to successive alterations. The first architect of the palace was Teodoro Ardemans (1661–1726), whose proposition adapted to the new needs of the monarch. Although the palace was built in a short time, it was enlarged and modified with little planning, depending on the different intentions of the king himself, with interventions by Procaccini (1671–1734) and Juvarra (1678–1736) and their respective disciples. The first stage of the palace, as all the royal seats, is clearly demarcated since Philip V established the place in 1720 until the death of his son Louis I, in August of 1724. When on 27 July 1720 Philip V made a secret vote to abdicate the Crown in favour of his eldest son Louis I, the king had already planned to build his residence in the forest without courtiers in attendance, in quiet retreat where he could spend his life according to his tastes and customs.Philip V, grandson of the Sun King, educated at Versailles and Marly surrounded by courtiers and constant festivities, found in the forest of la Granja de San Ildefonso the ideal place for his earthly and spiritual retreat. The topography of the place gave a natural insulation from the bustling Madrid court. One of the first actions was the layout of the garden, and so French artists Étienne Boutelou and René Carlier were called upon. The Grandes Eaux of the fountains were animated with splendid marble sculptures by the French sculptors René Fremin and Jean Thierry, who had worked in the Marly gardens.

Keywords

• Felipe V
• palacio de la Granja de San Ildefonso
• jardines
• mármol
• plomo
• fuentes