Porta Coeli Charterhouse

Serra de Porta Coeli, Spain

Porta Coeli Charterhouse is located on a rural site of the municipality of Serra de Porta Coeli in the province of Valencia, Spain. The name of the charterhouse, Porta Coeli, means door of heaven.

The monastery was founded in 1272 under the sponsorship of Andrés Albalat, Bishop of Valencia and confessor of James I of Aragon. From this monastery came the monks to found the charterhouses of Ara Christi and Via Coeli.

The monastery was suppressed in the 19th century, and although it tried to regain the site, the order did not return until 1943, with reconsecration in 1947. It was used as a Francoist concentration camp between 1939 and 1941. It remains the only cloistered men's monastery in the province.

Construction at Porta Coeli began at its foundation and continued for centuries, giving the monastery its eclectic architectural contributions. The church is mainly Gothic in style, from the 14th century. In the 18th century it underwent a major Baroque restructuring. Among the works in the church are paintings depicting scenes from the New Testament (18th century) by the painter José Camarón Bonanat. It has portraits of the monks Juan de Nea, Francisco de Aranda, Bonifacio Ferrer and Francisco Maresme. The ceiling was frescoed by Luis Antonio Planes. Visits to the cloisters are limited.

References:

Comments

Your name



Details

Founded: 1272
Category: Religious sites in Spain

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.3/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Marco Tuinenburg (6 months ago)
Very nice monastery, but you really can't enter it. They are Carthusian monks. They lock themselves in a vault and only meet on Sundays. Very special to look at the monastery from a distance. There is a very special and serene peace.
Foodwheelsyt (7 months ago)
A magical place of worship, it cannot be visited but from the outside you can see all its beauty and splendor. All that is asked is respect and silence for the monks inside praying for everyone. + Info on Youtube: foodwheelsyt
Rodrigo Domínguez González (9 months ago)
Building dedicated to worship, not visitable, but a magnificent jewel of architecture with which to delight the view from the top of the mountain, along a wonderful access road. The views are very worth it
Tony Kehlhofer (22 months ago)
Beautifully maintained 13th century charter house and monastery. It is tucked away in a valley about 20 miles north of Valencia and about 5 miles past Betera. A good, though narrow, road will get you there. It’s a popular cycling route so mind the cyclists. It doesn’t appear that you can get on the grounds but you can hike to a great vantage point in a few minutes from the road. Driving farther up you can park and hike past the aqueduct that is still there, orange groves, kiwi tree orchards and more. Combined with a hike to the spring up the hill about a mile this makes fir a fun outing they most tourists will miss. Take time to smell the rosemary and thyme that is everywhere!
Paul Thompson (7 years ago)
Please note, there is no access to the monastery. You can only look at it from a distance, very pretty, and good walking in the surrounding hills.
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Abbey of Saint-Georges

Saint-Georges de Boscherville Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey. It was founded in about 1113 by Guillaume de Tancarville on the site of an earlier establishment of secular canons and settled by monks from the Abbey of Saint-Evroul. The abbey church made of Caumont stone was erected from 1113 to 1140. The Norman builders aimed to have very well-lit naves and they did this by means of tall, large windows, initially made possible by a wooden ceiling, which prevented uplift, although this was replaced by a Gothic vault in the 13th century. The chapter room was built after the abbey church and dates from the last quarter of the 12th century.

The arrival of the Maurist monks in 1659, after the disasters of the Wars of Religion, helped to get the abbey back on a firmer spiritual, architectural and economic footing. They erected a large monastic building one wing of which fitted tightly around the chapter house (which was otherwise left as it was).