On my last little getaway before the start of the tourist season, I stopped to visit this Sevillian monastery, located specifically in Santiponce.
Many people recommended the visit, so I had to cross it off my “places to visit” list.
I must confess that the place surprised me, and I enjoyed it immensely. Additionally, the staff was very kind and attentive.
Let me tell you more…
Origins
At the beginning of the 14th century, in 1301, Don Alonso Pérez de Guzmán (Guzmán el Bueno) and his wife María Alonso Coronel founded the monastery very close to the Roman city of Italica. The reason for choosing this specific location is that tradition claims that Saint Isidore of Seville was buried in these lands.
Since then, the monastery was under the spiritual and temporal administration of various religious orders: Cistercians, Hieronymite hermits, and their order. It was the Order of Saint Jerome that left its mark on the construction and decoration of the monastery.
In the 1430s, the Hieronymite hermits of Fray Lope de Olmedo replaced the Cistercians. They reformed the building, leaving their imprint of monastic life and decoration. Later, in the mid-16th century, the friars of the monastery participated in the Sevillian religious reformist movement. Unfortunately, as a consequence, some monks were imprisoned and others fled Spain. One of them was Casiodoro de Reina, who translated the Bible into Spanish for the first time, known as the Bear Bible.
It was King Philip II who ordered the merger of the congregation with the Order of Saint Jerome to avoid further conflicts.
Description.
It is a fortress monastery with a double church.
The architectural styles range from Gothic with influences from Languedoc to Mudéjar, the latter with a clear Almohad tradition.
Regarding the decoration, Cistercian austerity is evident, but so are the mural paintings that adorn the Hieronymite monastery, one of the most notable ensembles in all of Spain.
Around the Cloister of the Dead, we find the dependencies of the medieval core: the churches, the refectory, the sacristy, the chapter house… These were transformed by Sevillian Baroque with altarpieces, choir stalls, mural paintings, and plaster vaults. The altarpieces by the brilliant Martínez Montañés are of extraordinary beauty and worth mentioning.
In the following centuries, the monastery was endowed with a tower, a belfry, five cloisters, the procurator’s office, the guesthouse, the monastic dependencies, and the agricultural facilities.
The churches and altar pieces.
In these two spaces, where the altarpieces stand out, we find burials linked to the Guzmán family. Notably, those of Don Alonso de Guzmán and his wife.
A lectern crowned by the image of the Virgin Mary and surrounded by angels is the centerpiece of the choir stalls area.
Rooms around the cloister
Here we find several rooms decorated with frescoes. Some of them are spaces where artworks are displayed, pieces belonging to the Roman city of Italica, or a collection of ancient Bibles, among others.
It is a place where you can enjoy the beauty that its various rooms hold and where you can rest surrounded by the tranquility and peace of its courtyard. Come and enjoy this space, and if you need a guide, share your ideas in the “contact” section. Thank you.
