Día a día en el palacio

For the nobility of the XVIII century, the daily life was regulated. At the Court, lunch was public and with authorities, inherited from the pomp of Versailles, but our prince in his daily life liked little the ceremonies of the Court. He dressed modestly and simply; a trait probably inherited from his character. When he awoke, he washed, dressed, and prayed. After breakfast, he would listen to Mass and then attend to business in the office. He also visited his confessor daily. At the Court, Carlos III established that the family would have lunch together, probably the same custom that the Infante maintained in Arenas de San Pedro. After lunch, in the summer, he would take a nap to avoid activity during the hottest hours of the day. But the rest of the year it was time to go hunting, an activity that the Infante enjoyed every day, unless health problems prevented him from doing so. Hunting was one of Don Luis' favorite pastimes and one of the reasons he chose Arenas for his retirement. Goya shared this fact in his correspondence with his friend Zapater, and the painter himself accompanied the prince to hunt on several occasions during his stays in Arenas. After hunting, he still had time in the day to enjoy his other hobbies: Music, which he also enjoyed every day, played by his orchestra made up of great artists of the time, such as Luigi Boccherini, the Font family, Francisco Landini, and Francisco Courcelle. And collecting. The Infante had a library with more than 4,500 titles and other manuscripts. He also had a collection of medals that was unique in Europe, prints, machines and devices, a cabinet of natural history, and a picture gallery with more than 5,600 pieces, being the patron of great painters of his time, such as Sasso, Mengs or Goya.