First we drove from Madrid northwest to San Lorenzo de El Escorial, high on Spain's central plateau. Built from a local grey granite, its imposing backdrop is the foothills of the Sierra de Guadarrama. While the Augustine monastery is closed to the public, there is still much to see. Famous for its artistic wealth, the palace collection includes Flemish, Italian and Spanish paintings and Philip's personal collection of some 40,00 books and manuscripts dating from the 9th century. In the Chapterhouse are paintings by El Greco, Titian and El Bosco and Charles V's portable altar.
Magnificent frescoes adorn the ceilings.
The Basilica has an incredibly lavish altarpiece, and Philip, who was equally devout, followed his father's example. His modest bedroom also opened onto the altar, so that he, too, could be closer to God when he died in 1598. Here, in tiers of sarcophagi, lie the kings and queens of Spain, with Charles V at the very top. As some kings married three or four times, only queens whose children inherited the throne are buried here. In the small town of Tordesillas, the darker side of Charles V came to life.