Campillo y Monesterio, dos casas de Felipe II en el entorno de El Escorial. Arquitectura y paisaje

Resum

The research focuses on “El Campillo” and “Monesterio”, two royal country estates of the Royal Site of the Escorial, which despite covering almost half of the area declared “Bien de Interés Cultural” BIC ( of Cultural Interest, a category of the Spanish Heritage register), are the lesser known and least researched into elements of the royal site2 . The BIC legal designation sets a number of prerequisites before any action in the Historic Territory and also establishes the need to develop scientific research into the historical, artistic and architectural aspects of the main elements and their appropriate disclosure. As such, this research could be considered to be a preliminary study and the first step in a plan for the conservation and possible future interventions in these country estates. The mains objectives of this thesis are: firstly, to study the cases of both El Campillo and Monesterio in the context of the country houses of Philip II of Spain located in the region surrounding Madrid. Secondly, to analyze the properties, both insofar as the buildings are concerned and the surrounding landscape. Thirdly, to carry out a mapping of the relevant elements in El Campillo and Monesterio and also, accurate planimetric surveys of the buildings. The research studies the connection between architecture and landscape based on three approach levels. The first is focused on the planning design by Philip II around Madrid and based on his country houses. The second, dedicated to the country estates of the Royal Site of the Escorial, as defined by the area declared BIC. And finally the architectural scale, where the main buildings and other structures of El Campillo and Monesterio are analyzed. The thesis also looks at the influences exerted by England, Flanders and Italy and the Spanish experience in the configuration of this building program. The study attempts to achieve a more efficient approach to the cases of El Campillo and Monesterio, as they have been studied from a wider context and as part of a more complex planning system.