Excursion to El Escorial and the Valley of the Fallen from Madrid

Near Madrid are two places where the history of Spain can be read: the austere complex of El Escorial and the memorial carved into the rock at the Valley of the Fallen.

The monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial was built in the 16th century under the reign of Felipe II and was conceived from the outset as a residence, monastery and royal pantheon. Inside, visitors can see the palace with its sober rooms, the cloister of the Cuatro Evangelistas with the clear geometry of its courtyard, and the royal pantheon, where Spanish monarchs rest. The complex conveys the sense of a unified space, where the architecture responds to an idea of order and power.

About nine kilometres from El Escorial, among the slopes of the Sierra de Guadarrama, stands another great complex: the Valley of the Fallen. It was created as a memorial to the Spanish Civil War and includes an enormous cross more than 150 metres high, visible from afar. Inside the mountain is a basilica carved directly into the rock and a crypt that can be accessed during the visit.

These two places are perceived as a single itinerary: from the austere symmetry of El Escorial to the monumental space in the rock, where architecture merges with the landscape.