PATIO OF THE EVANGELISTS

To the left of the church, go out into the "Patio of the Evangelists", which is the most beautiful cloister in the Escorial, and where you can finally enjoy a little bit of green among all the severe gray stone. The cloister is named after the central monument with its statues of the four evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Extensive frescoes of sacred subjects await you under the arcades, which are the work of Pellegrino Tibaldi, an Italian architect and painter of the Counter-Reformation. Another Italian, Luca Giordano, decorated the grand staircase with an elaborate Baroque fresco celebrating the glory of the Spanish monarchy.