ARANJUEZ(Ara Jovis?'), a town in Spain, in the province of Madrid, situated 1640 feet above the sea, in a beautiful valley on the left bank of the Tagus, near its junction with the Jarama, 28 miles S.S.E. of the capital, and 22 E.N.E, of Toledo, and united by rail with both these cities. The master of the Order of Santiago had a country seat at Aranjuez in the 14th and 15th centuries, which passed, along with the mastership, into the possession of the crown of Spain in the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella (1522). It became a favourite resort of the Spanish court during the spring months; and its successive occupants, from the Emperor Charles V. down to Ferdinand VII., modified it according to their respective tastes. The larger palace, a building in the French style, due to Philip V., stands at the meeting of the rivers, and is surrounded with the luxuriant foliage of oaks and sycamores and elms. Many of the elms, which were originally brought from England in the reign of Philip II., have attained an extraordinary size. The Casa del Labrador^ or Farmer’s House, as it is called, is a smaller palace built by Charles IV., and full of elaborate ornamentation. The inhabitants of the town continued to live for the most part in troglodytic fashion in excavations in the hill-sides, till the reign of Charles III. (1759-1788), whose minister, Grimaldi, laid the town out in imitation of the Dutch style, with straight wide streets, and uniform two-story houses. It contains two parish churches— S. Antonio and del Payés — an hospital, a Franciscan convent, a bull-ring, and a theatre. The manufactures are flour, chocolate, leather, and glass; but most of the inhabitants are dependent on agricultural pursuits. A yearly fair is held on the 4th, 5th, and 6th of September. Great ...