Located within the Real Sitio de San Lorenzo El Escorial, the Casa Real de Monesterio is an old royal residence from the 16th and 17th centuries. The original building was constructed between 1486 and 1503 by don Gutierre to serve as a residence for Isabel. In 1594, Felipe II purchased the nearby villas of Campillo and Monesterio, ordering the surrounding lands to be enclosed with a stone wall and the towns to be depopulated.
Starting from 1612, the house underwent a deep reform by Juan Gómez de Mora. The result was a classical style building constructed in granite with an attached garden and orchard. During this transformation, the original stone doorway was moved to serve as an entrance to the garden. The residence maintained a relatively good state until the first half of the 19th century.
In 2013, the building was included in the Lista Roja by the association Hispania Nostra due to the risk of collapse. However, it was declared a Bien de Interés Cultural in 2006 as part of the Real Sitio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial y El Escorial, and consolidation work on the ruins began that same year. In 2018, the building was removed from the Lista Roja and moved to the Lista Verde.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nik Frost
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