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The Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso is one of the residences of the Spanish Royal family and is located in the Segovian town of Real Sitio de San Ildefonso.
The Royal Site of La Granja is located on the northern slope of the Sierra de Guadarrama, 13 kilometers from Segovia, and about 80 kilometers from Madrid. Its name comes from an old farm that the Hieronymite monks of the monastery of El Parral had in the vicinity. In 1719, King Felipe V ordered the construction of a chapel in its surroundings, "without demolishing anything of the old" The northern slope of the Sierra de Guadarrama was during the Middle Ages a hunting place reserved for the kings of Castile, who frequented it given its hunting wealth and its proximity to the city of Segovia. The Duke of Anjou was born in Versailles (France) in 1683 and grew up in the court of his grandfather Louis XIV. An introverted character, he was affable and intelligent and very fond of physical exercise. In 1700, when he turned 17, he became Felipe V (the Courageous), King of Spain and the Indies. Extending over a hundred and forty-six hectares, the gardens surround the palace and are one of the best examples of design gardens of 18th century Europe. The fountains are inspired by classical mythology, including deities, allegories and mythological scenes. They were built in lead to prevent corrosion, although they were painted in imitation of bronze to ennoble them, as in Versailles. The largest is the Fountain of Neptune, which is made up of a rectangular basin and three aligned sculptural groups. In the center is Neptune with his trident on a chariot pulled by two horses with fish tails (Hippocampus) that expel water through their noses and in the prow of the chariot a triton holding a dolphin that expels a vertical jet of almost 30 meters High. On the sides two genies mounted on sea horses escort Neptune. Source Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso.
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