Logbook · 15 places

Basilica of San Lorenzo el Real

San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Cuenca del Guadarrama, Madrid

1 Villages · 9 Monuments · 2 Nature · 1 Activities · 1 Curiosities · 1 Historical milestones

Spain › Community of Madrid › Cuenca del Guadarrama › San Lorenzo de El Escorial › Basilica of San Lorenzo el Real

Basilica of San Lorenzo el Real

Monument · San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Cuenca del Guadarrama, Madrid

A church at the centre of the monastic complex of El Escorial, in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, conceived as a place of commemoration for the deceased kings of Spain. The title of basilica, granted by papal prerogative, traditionally required the church to be built over the burial place of a martyr, in this case San Lorenzo, just as St Peter's Basilica in Rome stands over the tomb of the apostle. Its dome rises 95 metres above the ground, with a 17-metre diameter at the drum, and the main altarpiece, 30 metres high and commissioned in 1579, was designed by Juan de Herrera and carved in marble by Jacome da Trezzo. The monastery complex, whose construction was ordered by Philip II, was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1984.

Photo: Fred Romero from Paris, France (CC BY 2.0)

What to see and do in San Lorenzo de El Escorial