“Fuego, alquimia y arquitectura. La botica del monasterio del Escorial”

Author: Andrés Soguero Torres

Publisher: Polytechnic School of Madrid

Photography: William Mulvihill

The Monastery of El Escorial is the magnum opus that embodies the greatest splendor of the Spanish crown. Often regarded as the eighth wonder of the world, it is a multifunctional and productive structure, as well as a deeply symbolic one.

This study aims to analyze the influences that shaped the creation of the building as a product of hermeticism. To this end, it explores the role of Renaissance alchemy in the thinking of King Philip II and architect Juan de Herrera, establishing connections between architecture and magic by uncovering the symbolic relationships embedded in the monastery’s design and other architectural elements.

Approaching the subject from an unconventional perspective, the research converges on a key architectural space: the Real Botica Escurialense. Using this space as a focal point, the study examines the relationship between energy and architecture through two interconnected concepts: fire and alchemy.

Through spatial cartography, this work offers a historical, descriptive, and visual analysis that illustrates the boundaries, and overlaps, between science, magic, and architecture.