Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales is one of the most stunning buildings in the centre of Madrid. This convent has a church, a cloister, a museum and even a kitchen garden. Its history dates back to the XVI century and it is one of the oldest convents in Madrid. It not only has enormous historical value but it also houses a very important art collection. In our blog we have already written about another place full of history which is Biblioteca Nacional; today, we will visit Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales. Would you like to join us?

A CONVENT IN THE VERY CENTRE OF MADRID

It is located in Plaza de las Descalzas, hence its name. Half way between Sol and Opera we come upon Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales. This Renaissance and Plateresque style building was founded in 1559 by Juana de Austria and it became a cloistered nuns convent. However, before 1559 it was a palace which was reconstructed and then turned into a convent.

Inside, we can still see some remains of the palace such as a Plateresque door and a courtyard with columns. When Napoleon III arrived, many buildings in the square which belonged to important people such as the duke of Lerma or the marquis of Mejorada were demolished or transformed. But, Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales was not changed in any way.

10.000 WORKS OF ART

In the convent, we must highlight the church even though we do not know who planned and designed it. It has a classic style façade and in the interior we can admire the altar, the choir area and the sacristy as well as many paintings and sculptures of interest.

It is wortwhile visiting the beautiful cloister which is made up of more than sixty marble pieces. In this cloister, in Holy Week, you can see the Santo Entierro Procession as it conveys the perfect setting.

The main staircase, which impresses every visitor, as well as Capilla del Milagro have striking murals of different periods. Paintings by Claudio Coello, Zurbarán, Rubens and Tiziano decorate the convent which has more than 10.000 works of art. We must admire the nine tapestries made by Rubens which hang in a permanent exhibition. The nuns of the convent grow vegetables in the kitchen garden.

DID YOU KNOW THAT..?

Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales is an enclosed convent. However, the nuns live in a separate building so as to enable visitors to see it and therefore they do not coincide with the nuns.

Pictures 01 and 02: Trubble

Picture 03: Manuel

Picture 04: Enrique Cordero