Royal Convent of Santa Clara

Tordesillas, Spain

The Santa Clara buildings were originally built by King Alfonso XI as his palace in 1344. His son Peter the Cruel had it embellished by Mudéjar artists, beautiful works at Santa Clara, though on a much smaller scale than they did in the Alcázar of Seville. The facade, a lovely small patio, a chapel and the baths remain of Peter the Cruel's palace. Blanche de Bourbon was held here after her abandonment by Peter for María de Padilla in 1353. The former portal, blocked off now, has a particularly fine Mudéjar doorway. In 1363 he ceded Santa Clara to two of his daughters by María de Padilla. They turned it into a convent, but it retained its role as a royal palace.

Santa Clara convent's saddest association is with Joanna I Queen of Castile and Aragon, the daughter of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, widow of Philip I of Castile and mother of his six children including Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor - popularly known as Juana la loca (Joanna the mad) - who was confined here for almost half a century until her death in 1555.

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Details

Founded: 1344
Category: Religious sites in Spain

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

alvaro tascon (3 years ago)
Expectacular
Jean Meiresonne (4 years ago)
Must see. Guided tour only. One hour.
Yong Cabrera (4 years ago)
It was ok from outside the place was close.
Michel Klaassen (4 years ago)
Good quality tour, interesting interior like chapels, courtyard, church, dormitory etc worth the 6 euros and 1 hour investment
Elena (4 years ago)
In the guide tour we miss some kind of reference regarding Juana La Loca and her husband, Felipe El Hermoso.
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