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TRAVEL DESTINATIONS >> SPAIN >> MADRID Convent of the Royal Barefoot Sisters

While Barefoot Nuns might sound like a movie title, Madrid's Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales is both a functioning convent and a treasure trove of art. The buildings themselves are outstanding examples of Renaissance architecture. The orange stone facade is elegant, graced by several archways and magnificent doors.

Founded by the daughter of Charles V in 1559 as a retreat for noblewomen, the nunnery has maintained its commitment to its Franciscan principles for centuries. Tours of the grounds and the artifacts housed there have only recently been allowed in the last few decades.

Once a royal palace where women of the Spanish aristocracy wandered quiet hallways, shoeless no doubt, in meditation and prayer, the convent became not only an environment for religious contemplation but also a private art museum. The collection grew gradually as one by one, the noblewomen who wished to enter the religious life of the Franciscan order each brought with them a 'dowry' offered as a prospective bride of Christ.

For centuries the convent, the art collection and the private grounds were restricted and closed to outsiders. Today those art treasures are accessible to visitors. The Barefoot nuns opened their domain to the public in 1960 and began conducting guided tours, which is the only way you are permitted to see the collection.

The treasures include paintings by Titian, Zurbarán and Brueghel the Elder, along with many others. There are magnificent hand woven tapestries based on drawings by Rubens. There is even a marble mausoleum crafted by Leoni, a sculpted sepulchre of Emperatriz María by Crescenci, and several Mena sculptures.

Though the tour guides speak Spanish, questions in English are permitted and will be answered in English. Regardless of your bi-lingual abilities, there is much to be fascinated and delighted by at the Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales.
 


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