Colegio Mayor de San Ildefonso

The Colegio Mayor de San Ildefonso (Spanish: Colegio Mayor de San Ildefonso) is a historic college and building located in Alcalá de Henares, Spain. It was declared Bien de Interés Cultural in 1914.^{[citation needed]}

Colegio Mayor de San Ildefonso
Native name Colegio Mayor de San Ildefonso (Spanish)
Location	Alcalá de Henares, Spain
Coordinates	40.482855°N 3.363075°W / 40.482855; -3.363075
Spanish Cultural Heritage
Official name	Colegio Mayor de San Ildefonso
Type	Non-movable
Criteria	Monument
Designated	1914
Reference no.	RI-51-0000132
Location of Colegio Mayor de San Ildefonso in Spain

Construction

The college was built by Cardinal Cisneros, who commissioned architect Pedro de Gumiel, designing it in the purism style. The foundation stone was laid in 1499, the Saint Ildefonsus` Chapel was completed in 1510; in 1516 began construction of the Paraninfo (Auditorium) and in 1537 Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón designed the main façade.

Although most of the work had been carried out by 1617 when Juan Gómez de Mora redesigned the courtyard (Thomas of Villanova's courtyard), the construction was not finished until the second half of the 17th century.

Royal reform of 1666

Main article: Royal reform of the Colegio Mayor de San Ildefonso

In 1666, the Colegio Mayor de San Ildefonso underwent one of the most comprehensive institutional reforms in the history of Spanish higher education.^[1] Acting under a royal decree issued by King Philip IV, jurist García de Medrano y Álvarez de los Ríos, of His Majesty’s Chamber and Royal Council, was appointed to investigate and restructure the college as royal visitor.^[2]

His reform was codified into an 82-title legal code, which took effect in 1666 and reshaped nearly every aspect of college governance, discipline, academic appointments, and religious life.^[1]

The reform marked the end of the college’s traditional autonomy, imposing Crown authority over faculty elections, introducing term limits, and centralizing university oversight under the Council of Castile. It is now recognized as a defining example of absolutism applied to educational institutions during the Habsburg era.^[1][3]