ESCURIAL, the name of a village in Spain, about seven leagues from Madrid, and celebrated for the mag nificent palace of the Escurial, or St Lorenzo, which has been deemed by the Spaniards the eighth wonder of the world. This splendid structure was begun in 1557, by Philip II. in commemoration of the battle of St Quintin, which he gained on the clay of the Spanish saint St Lo renzo, from which it received its name. The first archi tect was John Baptiste Manegro of Toledo, and upon his death, in 1567, the work was continued by Bustamanti, one of his pupils, who died in 1597.
The building, which consists of grey stone, from the neighbouring quarries, is arranged in the form of a grid iron, in allusion to the martyrdom of St Lorenzo. The dome of the church is surrounded with eight symme trical towers, which give a fine effect to the whole edi fice.
The Escurial is a long parallelogram with four fronts. The principal or north front is 637 feet broad, and 51 high up to the cornice. It is flanked at each angle with a tower 180 It has three entrances, and 200 win dows. The lower part of the central gate is adorned with eight Doric columns, and the upper part with four Ionic columns. The front on the opposite side towards the east, is of equal extent, and is approached by a large square raised on arches like a terrace, and surrounded with a lofty ballustrade. The west and south fronts are of the same dimensions ; the latter having five rows of windows, and the former almost none.
This vast building affords accommodation to a commu nity of monks, as well as to the sovereigns of Spain.
The apartments occupied by the monks contain vari ous objects deserving of notice. The chapter room and the prior's apartment contain many admirable pictures. The old church is 129 feet long, and 33 feet broad. The refectory is 103 feet long, and 33 broad. Among other paintings, is a Lord's Supper by Titian, which is greatly admired. The ground cloister is a square formed by a double row of piazzas, one above the other, 93 feet long on each of the four sides, and 17 feet broad. The walls of the lower cloister are covered with paintings by the first artists. The staircase from the lower to the upper
cloister is adorned with fine fresco paintings, one of which represents the foundation of the monastery, and the bat tle of St Quintin. The upper cloister itself is ornamented with the finest pictures.
The double cloister, which is built of granite, is 52 feet high, and has four grand fronts, one at each side, opening on a spacious court of 88 arches, eleven in each row, supported by 96 columns, which are Doric below and Ionic above. The area of the cloister is divided into several compartments. A small octagonal temple, about 52 feet high and 26 in diameter, and terminating in a dome, occupies the centre. Without it is built of granite, and within of fine jasper marble ; and its eight sides arc alternately adorned with projecting columns, or with statues as large as life ; all the ornamental sculp ture being wrought in Genoa marble.
The libraries are peculiarly valuable and interesting. In one of the libraries is a collection of books in Latin, Hebrew, and Arabic characters, with an assemblage of 4300 MSS, of which 567 are Greek, 67 Hebrew, 1805 Arabic, and 1820 in Latin, Castilian, and other langua ges. In this number are included several Bibles, parti cularly the Greek Bible of the Emperor Cantacuzene. There is also in this library a collection of ancient and modern medals. A part of the other library, which is deposited in a private cabinet, contains many choice de signs and ancient MSS. Among these is a copy of the Four Evangelists, 700 years old, embellished with minia tures, and also a Greek Liturgy, supposed to have been written by St Basil. The apartment in which these are contained is adorned with fluted Doric columns, and the roof and frieze are covered with allegorical paintings. On a table in the centre, is a small octagonal temple, which represents Charlemagne in the midst of his prin ces and palatines. The temple is of silver, and is em bellised with 20 pounds of lapis lazuli, 48 ounces of gold, and 1448 ounces of silver, besides agates, diamonds, and other precious stones. The monks are extremely atten tive in sheaving all these curiosities to strangers.