PhD Program in Historical studies
Imitating the royal family: the foundation of the Dukes of Olivares in Loeches
To the north-east of Madrid, in LoechesLoeches is a small town located in the eastern part of the Comunity of Madrid, near the city of Alcalá de Henares, on which it depended throughout its history. Its origins dates back to the Reconquista, when some Basques repopulated the area and founded Loeches. In 1633, the Count-Duke of Olivares purchased the town and built his palace and a convent there. Dismissed by the court in 1643, Olivares moved to Loeches for his remaining years., one finds the Monastery of the Inmaculada Concepción. It was founded by the favourite of Philip IV, Gaspar de Guzmán y Pimentel, the Count-Duke of Olivares, and his wife Inés de Zúñiga y VelascoInés de Zúñiga y Velasco (1584-1647), belonging to the noble family of Zúñiga, married her cousin, the Count-Duke of Olivares, the favourite of Philip IV, in 1607. Inés became one of the most important ladies of the Spanish court, camarera mayor (The chief female member of the household staff) of Queen Isabella of Bourbon, the first wife of the monarch, and guardian (aya) of Prince Baltasar Carlos. in 1640. In Loeches Olivares wanted to enrich his patrimony by building a palace and a convent of female Dominican RecollectsThe Dominican Recollects did not spread much through the Habsburg Monarchy. Present in the seventeenth century, they left very few foundations, among which the convent of Corpus Christi in Cordoba and the convent of Loeches near Madrid., visited daily by the countess. Olivares and his wife moved to Loeches in 1643, when the Count-Duke lost power and was removed from the court on charges of having mismanaged the resources of a monarchy in decline, which could not cope with the high costs of battles and continuing economic difficulties. The building, in Baroque style, was designed by Alonso Carbonel. The main façade is made of granite and is virtually identical to the facade of the Monastery of the Encarnación, with the declared intention of imitating the most important monastery of the reigns of Philip III and Philip IV. The lateral façades are composed of limestone and ashlar, with a portico with three arches on the lower floor, a niche in the center and two coats of arms at the top of the façade. The roof is in slate with a spire, a very characteristic element of the buildings constructed during the period of the Austrias. A large dome is also of the same material. The complex was made up of the convent, the church, a family pantheon and some orchards. The church is Baroque, a replica of that of the Encarnación, with a single nave covered with a barrel vault and the dome on the crossing. The exterior of the monastery is in brick, with ceramic covering.
Today the monastery is under the patronage of the Casa de Alba, the current Count-Dukes of Olivares. One of the most characteristic of the building is the pantheon of the Dukes of Alba, although that was built in the early twentieth century, which contains the bodies of the Count-Dukes of Olivares after their corpses were transported there and distinguished members of the Alba family.
Both the convent as the church guarded important artistic jewels of the Baroque, but looting, since the time of Napoleon, meant that most of the paintings, the furniture and items of jewelry of great value were stolen. Today they are scattered in various museums in Spain and Europe.