11/11: Segovia's San Ildefonso Palace aka Little Versailles!

After touring the troubling Valley of the Fallen earlier in the day, we needed an uplifting sight and La Granja de San Ildefonso Palace, located south of Segovia, was the perfect choice. The 'Little Versailles' palace and gardens were built by the French-born King Philip V, grandson of Louis XIV. The place was restored to its original 18th century splendor with its royal collection of tapestries, clocks, and crystal.

We first toured its outstanding Tapestry Museum where we were lucky enough to view gorgeous tapestries from the 1400s to the 1500s. I was nonplussed at how vibrant the colors were and in what superb condition each tapestry was in. I could only wonder how many women worked on each masterpiece and how long it must have taken to create such works of art!

The Portrait Gallery also included French marble and bronze clocks from the 18th century.

If not for the notes provided, I would never have known that the 18th century statue of a Japanese woman holding the child was in the form of a bottle, and the stopper was her head!

The Oratory Room was normally a small chapel, especially for private worship. In this palace, though, the desk belonging to King Ferdinand VI served as a portable oratory. Also in the room was a magnificent large early 18th century earthenware jar from the Chinese Qing dynasty.

Imagine having a Fireplace Room in a palace!

In the Majesties Bedroom was a painting of Alexander the Great ordering the building of the city named after him in 1737. The floor had the original marble paving. 

The Queen’s Private Sitting Room had Louis XV chairs made in the palace's Royal Workshop during the 18th century. There were spectacular vaulted ceilings in each room.

The Former Oratory had a lovely array of paintings including a pastel drawing of a head of a saint by Queen Isabella Farnese.

The tapestry curtain was made by Aubusson in 1867.

One more of the palace's beautiful collection of clocks was in the Former Oratory.

The mahogany table in the Dining Room came from Brazil. 

The room's cut rock crystal chandelier was made in France in the 19th century.

The Lacquer Room was the most ornate so far in my opinion. It was designed using panels from Oriental lacquer screens and was the original bedroom of Philip V and Queen Isabella. The 'blue on white' late 17th century, large earthenware jars with hunting scenes also came from the Qing dynasty.

Downstairs was the Valour Room. Its lovely vaulted ceiling painting was called Valour Crowned by Victory.

The Fountain of the Shells was created in the 18th century. Wow, wow - it was gorgeous beyond belief! The ceiling in the alcove above the fountain was done in 1736. 

A view to other rooms we'd yet to see!

The Justice Room with an attractive Veiled Faith statue, carved out of Carrara marble in 1720, was a present from a cardinal to Queen Isabella. I was again surprised that 'men of the cloth' would have that much money at their private disposal.

The room's ceiling was another stunner.

The adjacent Peace Room had even more statues in marble.

When we thought nothing could be more glamorous, we came across the Hall of Eight Columns with a vaulted ceiling depicting The Rape of Europe, wall decorations in yellow and purple marble from Espejon, red from Cabra, white from Carrara, and green from Genoa! The mirrors were produced in the palace's own Royal Glass Factory in 1750.

There were lovely views to the palace gardens from all the lower rooms.

The oddly named Truth Room had a vaulted ceiling whose painting was called Truth. The Castor and Pollux plaster cast on the left belonged to Queen Isabella and was considered one of the most significant pieces in the collection.

The original pedestal with a marble relief of a battle between Romans and barbarians was from King Philip V's collection.

Granted we toured the palace in mid-November, but I was still surprised we almost had it to ourselves. The palace was much smaller and happier than nearby El Escorial we'd visited the day before en route to Segovia. After touring the palace we couldn't wait to see the gardens designed by the same person who created Versailles Gardens, before Versailles! We'd soon realize why the plumbers and gardeners imported from France and Italy made gardens for King Philip V that rivaled Versailles, even though it wasn't the optimal season to tour any gardens.

Most statues around Europe are normally made out of stone, so visually, the marble statues everywhere were sublime. Imagine our surprise when we saw roses still blooming in mid-November.

Just like the palace, the gardens went on forever and what helped make them unique were the copper colored fountain statues. Even though it wasn't the most pleasant weather, I really wanted to climb all the way to the top of the gardens by this water fountain to see the statues in greater detail.

I was so glad I had walked up to the top so I had this splendid view back over the cascading waterfall to the castle.

Both sides of the path leading to the top of the fountain was lined with more beautiful and graceful statues.

I bet you already figured out how much I liked these copper statues! I think it was because we'd seen so few of them before that.

Another lovely water feature at the palace:

I fell in love with the gardens' statuary.

Yet another water feature with more copper sculptures!

I could just imagine how gorgeous the gardens would be in the summer but they were still spectacular in November in my opinion.

Next post: Finally discovering the city of Segovia itself on our last day!

Posted on January 3rd, 2019 from our home in suburban Denver.