The Spanish architect Juan de Herrera (ca. 1530-1597) helped to plan the Escorial and introduced there a style that influenced Spanish architecture for over a century.

Juan de Herrera was born in Mobellán, Santander Province. He completed his studies at the University of Valladolid in the spring of 1548. The following October he joined Prince Philip (later Philip II) for a 3-year tour of Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands. He returned to Italy in 1553 in the service of Emperor Charles V and subsequently fought in the campaign of Flanders.

Herrera called his service to the monarch his "highest ideal." Not surprisingly, then, he followed Charles V into retirement in a monastery in Yuste, Estremadura region, and remained until the Emperor's death in 1558. Thereafter Herrera entered the service of Philip II. Herrera declared that, from 1565 onward, he made it a point "to follow His Majesty constantly wherever he...