to distractions elsewhere, this mission was not entirely successful. Philip II became aware of the fertile meadows of Aranjuez, and designated that a portion of land to the north of the river Tagus should be devoted to pottager and general agriculture in 1561. In an adjacent plot to the south of the river, the King began construction of the first palace, on the same site as the existing building. Philip engaged the services of architect Juan Bautista de Toledo and later Juan de Herrera. They were also responsible for the palace of The Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo. The site also included exotic animals such as dromedaries ( in the period sources): about 10 in 1583 and about 40 in 1598. After Philip's death in 1598, the works were still in progress with only the royal apartments, the chapel, the south tower and part of the western facade completed. An economic and political crisis and the fall of the royal house of Habsburg resulted in the project being abandoned. In 1700, the first Bourbon king of Spain, Philip V, decided to resume the work, intending to make Aranjuez a rival to the grand palace of Versailles. Subsequently, this imposing style would be applied to the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso. Philip V added a new north tower, completed the west facade and defined the structure that would shape the current palace. The royal dromedaries were about 200, surviving even the occupation of the palace by the troops of the Archduke of Austria in 1710. They were not kept in a menagerie as in Versalles, but grazed around or were employed as beasts of burden. Bulls and exotic animals were also used in the royal pastimes, such as dumping them into the Ontígola reservoir to be shot by the royal musket. Little used, in the palace was almost destroyed by fire in 1748. Ferdinand VI rebuilt the palace. Although still respecting the original foundations, the new structure was to reflect the prevailing late baroque style and 18th century aesthetic, of an imposing and ostentatious exterior accommodating a series of sumptuously furnished spaces within. Farinelli directed musical entertainment. The building is mainly due to Charles III in his reforming work for the capital city (he is sometimes called The Mayor of Madrid) and modernization of the Spanish state. The architect of the modern palace was the Italian Francesco Sabatini.