The Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, commonly known as Monasterio del Escorial, is a historical residence of the King of Spain, about 45 kilometres (28 miles) northwest of the Spanish capital, Madrid. It is one of the Spanish royal sites and functions as a monastery, basilica, royal palace, pantheon, library, museum, university, school and hospital.

The site was chosen by King Philip II of Spain who appointed Juan Baustista de Toledo architect-royal in 1559, and together they designed El Escorial. The King also intended the complex to serve as a necropolis for the remains of his parents, Charles I and Isabella of Portugal, himself, and his descendants. Since then, El Escorial has been the burial site for most of the Spanish kings of the last five centuries, Bourbons as well as Habsburgs.

The Escorial has three libraries inside, not just one. One is located behind the Chorus of the basilica. Another, within the monastery itself and the Royal one, which is public in everything.

The basilica of San Lorenzo el Real, the central building in the El Escorial complex, was originally designed, like most of the late Gothic cathedrals of western Europe, to take the form of a Latin cross. Situated next to the main altar of the Basilica, the residence of King Philip II is made up of a series of austerely decorated rooms. It features a window from which the king could observe mass from his bed when incapacitated by gout that afflicted him.

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