The Palace of Aranjuez is one of the most impressive royal residences in Spain and one of the many emblematic sites in the Madrid region. It is located in the Royal Site and Villa of Aranjuez, some 48 kilometres south of the capital.
The palace and its gardens were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001. With its winding canals and irrigation channels, contrasting with the straight lines of the rural and urban landscape, its tree-lined gardens and the delicately modulated architecture of its palatial buildings, the cultural landscape of Aranjuez is an example of the complex relationship between man and nature. Over the course of three hundred years, Spanish monarchs dedicated themselves to the design and care of this site, making it an example of the evolution of the concepts of humanism and political centralisation, as well as a landscape in which the characteristics of the French Baroque garden of the 18th century converge with those of the urban way of life of the Age of Enlightenment, in which the scientific practices of botanical acclimatisation and livestock breeding are also present.
This majestic building was built during the 16th century by order of Philip II, who used it as one of his summer residences. Since then, the palace has been modified and extended by other monarchs, resulting in an architectural complex of great beauty and diversity.
Its gardens and woods extend over more than 200 hectares of land, and are crossed by the Tagus River, which gives it a cool and serene atmosphere. The gardens, in particular, are one of the main attractions of Aranjuez. Designed during the 18th century by the architect Francesco Sabatini, they are an exceptional example of a Baroque garden, with fountains, ponds, arbours, pergolas and numerous winding paths that invite you to stroll and rest.
It was in this incomparable setting that the Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo found the inspiration to write one of his best-known works: the Concierto de Aranjuez. This piece of classical music for guitar and orchestra, which accompanies the video, is an elegy to the beauty of the landscape, which the composer captures in the movements that make up the concerto.
The “Concierto de Aranjuez” is, without doubt, one of the most emblematic works in the Spanish classical music repertoire. Not only is it an exceptional example of Rodrigo’s mastery as a composer, but it is also a tribute to the beauty and harmony of one of Spain’s many beautiful places.
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