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Name of castle: Aranjuez
The history of the construction of the Palace explains the distance in time between the various parts, as well as their similarities and differences. In 1563 Philip II entrusted the project to his architect Juan Bautista de Toledo, but when Toledo died in 1567 hardly more than the foundations of the Chapel had been laid. His disciples Gili and Herrera continued the construction until 1577, completing the Chapel, the right-hand section of the main facade, and the wing between the Courtyard of Honour and the King's Garden, as well as this Garden itself. When this was finished, representing scarcely half the Palace, Philip II stopped the construction to give preference to other works, and so the Palace remained until the beginning of the 18th century, although in 1636 Philip IV did commission his architect Juan Gomez de Mora to continue.
It was this architect who, for the first time, proposed a change in the original project and the introduction of a grand staircase, though this was not built due to lack of funds. In 1715, Philip V ordered the Palace to be completed; the Master of Works of Aranjuez, Pedro Caro ldrogo, under the remote supervision of the Master of the Royal Works, Teodoro Ardemans, built all the east wing, followed by the north and the west wings, which make up the lefthand section of the main facade. Idrogo, far from reproducing with exactitude the first half already built, introduced important modifications in the ground plan, to the point that the north wing is wider than the south wing. Giacomo Bonavia, who was in charge of the works from 1735 onwards, finished the new part of the facade and all the central section, with the staircase which was begun in 1743-44. In 1752 the last details were finished, after repairs to the roofs destroyed by a fire in 1748.
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