The Monastery

Santa Maria Royal Monastery

Two different architectural buildings make up this monastery, on the one hand the Sanctuary of the Patron Saint of the old Kingdom of Valencia built in the 14th century, and on the other the convent, whose construction began in 1588 and ended in 1670, residence of the Mercedarian Religious ( Order founded in 1218).

Art, decoration, history and devotion have left their mark on this building since 1237, when the image of Our Lady of the Angels was found, until today.

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Cloister

An atmosphere of peace surrounds the corridors of its cloisters

In the lower cloister pictorial works from the 17th century are exhibited. From there you can access the Gothic hall, refectory and the community chapel.

In the upper cloister 17th, 18th and 20th century canvases decorate its walls, enriching its wings with furniture, liturgical vestments and religious images, with access to the royal rooms and the church.

Patio Castrense

Example of sobriety and majesty of the Renaissance

Made of exposed brick in ochre and reddish colours, from it you can see the bell tower whose last section harmonizes with the patio and you can also see 2 of the 4 defensive-looking towers of the Herrerian-style monastery.

The sloping surface towards the center so that the monastery cistern, dug out of the very rock of the mountain, collect rainwater formerly used for conventual use.

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Gothic hall

The foundations of the Sanctuary, rodeno rock, the same mountain where the image was found.

Today it houses «facsimiles» of historical books and one of the swords of King Jaume I, two sketches of statues of the same king, a commemorative medal and one of the smallest books in the world.

Refectory

Completed in 1670 as it reads in the front, it maintains the distribution of its furniture

Decorated with sgraffito with enigmatic letters, initials of a Latin phrase that records the completion of the architectural work.

The pulpit consists of two parts, the upper one was the curb for the cistern of the house of Margarita de Lauria in the 14th century. In the windows we see shields of the Valencian nobility.

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Community Chapel

Old «Sala de profundis», with eighteenth-century baroque style in boxes of canvases and openings

The front facing of exposed brick from the 16th century. A Russian icon acts as the door of the tabernacle and from the ceiling hangs the 3 meter of diameter lamp with 24 studs and 24 shields of the nobility.

Canvases of the Valencian school of the seventeenth century, the «Christ» of the school of Francisco de Vergara, father of the painter José de Vergara, and presides over the «Virgen de la Merced» by Vicente López.

The tile base of the 18th Century; The sixteen ceramic paintings from Manises from 1774 represent scenes from the life of Saint Joseph.

Church

Gothic structure with architectural elements of the Renaissance, Neoclassicism and Romanesque

Rectangular plan, with three naves with a ribbed vault supported by pilasters, presided over by the Presbytery with a square apse, in the style of an old Visigothic temple on which the current temple stands. The choir, whose construction began in 1669, is closed by the grating of the presbytery forged in 1514.

In its chapels we find religious images, altarpieces, canvases and tombs such as the exquisite Gothic tomb of Bernat Guillem d’Entença or that of Father Jofré, who built the first psychiatric hospital in the world. Those on the Epistle side still have neoclassical coating carried out between 1739 and 1745.

Alta Mayor y Camarín

In the center of the neo-gothic altarpiece the original Byzantine image of Our Lady of the Angels 

From the 7th century, it weighs 200 kilos and was rebuilt after the Civil War. The altarpiece has scenes from the life of Jesus, images and figures of Mercedarians, and scenes from the reconquest of Valencia. Around the dome of the dressing room is written the legend that José de Vergara interpreted with his frescoes both its concealment by the Muslim invasion and its discovery by San Pedro Nolasco and Jaime I.

Exterior

Rectangular building with a defensive aspect with its four towers

Starting with the southeast tower, the oldest and with a rectangular base, going up the adjoining ramp on the east face of the building, a large door that gives access to the Monastery to visit it and also access the Printing Museum. Continuing along the barbican, going through the lattice gate of 1666 in the northeast, the base of the building, the very rock of the mountain, becomes more appreciated. Going up the ladder in the north wing you reach the Romanesque doorway of the church, restored after the Civil War. Attached to the Church, is the bell tower whose ringing bells mark the hours, calling the faithful for masses among other signs.

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