Escorial

American  

[e-skawr-ee-uhl, -skohr-, es-kaw-ryahl] / ɛˈskɔr i əl, -ˈskoʊr-, ˌɛs kɔˈryɑl /

noun

1. a building in central Spain, 27 miles (43 km) NW of Madrid, containing a monastery, palace, church, and mausoleum of the Spanish sovereigns: erected 1563–84.

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Escorial British  

/ ˌɛskɒrɪˈɑːl, ɛˈskɔːrɪəl /

noun

1. a village in central Spain, northwest of Madrid: site of an architectural complex containing a monastery, palace, and college, built by Philip II between 1563 and 1584

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Example Sentences

Spain in the 16th and early 17th centuries ruled over Flanders and large parts of present-day Italy, and both kings called on foreign painters to decorate the palaces of Madrid and El Escorial.

From New York Times • Aug. 11, 2016

When I visited San Lorenzo de El Escorial it was a gray day, unseasonably cold; all afternoon the sun hammered out corrugated sheets of cloud on the anvil of the sky.

From Salon • Feb. 19, 2013

It will be shown alongside Titian's two other known versions of John the Baptist, loaned from the Accademia gallery in Venice and the monastery at the former royal palace of El Escorial, near Madrid.

From BBC • Nov. 8, 2012

Philip’s gray granite palace, the Escorial, had massive walls and huge gates that demonstrated his power.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2012

I saw the Escorial out of the window, gray and long and cold in the sun, and did not give a damn about it.

From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway