Convent of Las Descalzas Reales

Madrid, Spain

The Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales, literally the 'Monastery of the Royal Barefooted', resides in the former palace of Emperor Charles V and Empress Isabel of Portugal. Their daughter, Joanna of Austria, founded this convent of nuns of the Poor Clare order in 1559. Throughout the remainder of the 16th century and into the 17th century, the convent attracted young widowed or spinster noblewomen. Each woman brought with her a dowry. The riches quickly piled up, and the convent became one of the richest convents in all of Europe. Tomás Luis de Victoria, Spain's finest Renaissance composer, worked at the convent from 1587 to the end of his life in 1611.

The demographics of the convent slowly changed over time, and by the 20th century, all of the sisters were in poverty. The convent maintained the riches of its past, but it was forbidden to auction any of the items off or spend any of the money it received from the dowries. The state intervened when it saw that the sisters were poor, and the pope granted a special dispensation to open the convent as a museum in 1960.

Museum

While in the past, the treasures of the monastery were not visible, today the monastery houses only a few nuns, and the site is a well-visited national monument. The noblewomen's dowries were often invested into relics and their bejeweled exhibition pieces. Among the many relics on display are putatively pieces from Christ's cross and the bones of Saint Sebastian. Among the priceless art masterpieces are Titian's Caesar's Money, tapestries woven to designs by Rubens, and works by Hans de Beken and Brueghel the Elder.

The museum collection also includes such rarities as portraits of royal children of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from the late 16th century, referring to Polish–Spanish relations that inspired Calderón's La vida es sueño. Portraits of the son and daughter of King Sigismund of Poland were painted by Martin Kober in 1596 and were sent as a gift to King Philip III of Spain.

The Church

The original architect of the church was Antonio Sillero. The facade was designed by Juan Bautista de Toledo in 1559; who also helped in the roofing of the church. Parts of the altar, choir, and sacristy, were designed by Juan Gómez de Mora in 1612. Gaspar Becerra in 1562 completed the main retablo of the altar, which was considered his master work. Unfortunately, this retablo was destroyed by fire in 1862, along with many of the paintings and frescoes by Juan Pantoja de la Cruz.

In 1863 the altar was replaced by one commissioned in 1716 by Philip V of Spain to commemorate the beatification of the French Jesuit John Francis Regis, including canvases by Michel-Ange Houasse. It has a sculpted relief of the Apotheosis of Juan Francisco Régis, by Camillo Rusconi. The lateral panels were sculpted by Jose Bellver. The recumbent statue of the Jesuit was sculpted by Agostino Cornacchini. A chapel contains the marble statue of Joanna of Austria at prayer, by either Pompeo Leoni or Crescenci.

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Details

Founded: 1559
Category: Religious sites in Spain

Rating

4.4/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Alexandra Soto (3 months ago)
The place is lovely but the guide was quite rude and I learned nothing as I was worried to do something that would annoy her. The convent is spectacular and the history behind it is very interesting, I understand it's a heavy duty to deal with tourists all day long but a good guide holds so much power about the experience you get to live. It's such a shame I wasn't lucky enough. I'll hesitate to recommend this visit unfortunately.
Scott S (4 months ago)
If you've done it all in Madrid and want to mix it up, this place is interesting and has some breathtaking art. Make a reservation to make sure you can get in, and I would not recommend it if you don't speak Spanish. You must go with a guided tour, which focuses on the art and is only given in Spanish. Before I went, I was a bit worried by the reviews. I had a lovely time. Our guide, Antonio, was excellent. My recommendation is to, courteously, ask questions if you have them. He knows about everything in the museum. People who complained about time given to look at the art must have never taken a guided tour, or possibly they had a different tour guide. We had plenty of time, keeping in mind that you are on a schedule and have to finish in an hour. You can't stand and gaze for hours. Also, no one at all was rude to us. If you want to go with realistic expectations, though, here are my two complaints: 1. You cannot enter with any bags or backpacks. You must have a euro coin to put into a locker before going in. That's fine, but they will not give you change if you have bills. Just charge me an extra dollar for the entrance and have some spare coins on hand. Or just fix the lockers, like many Mercadonas have done, so that you don't need a coin. Overall, a very small complaint, but now that you know, go prepared! It will make your life and everyone else's easier. 2. The behavior of the other people on the tour. If the guide mentions a painting, don't be a jerk and run to the painting and stand right in front of it so no one can see. Several people did this. It was extremely annoying. These people were adults (so it was super weird). Reading other reviews, it sounds like the tourists were the problem, not the guide or the security guard. Also, this is not a visit for children or people who can't stand for an hour. We are guests in the nuns' (beautiful) home. I am not religious at all, but I realized that it was a privilege to be here. Keep quiet while the guide is speaking, so that he doesn't have to talk loudly, and don't sit on the furniture that is not yours. We were very pleased with our visit. I would love to go back in the winter when they have the baby Jesus collection on display.
Ana Sacerio (5 months ago)
Beautiful collection of art, tapestries, and lots of history, very interesting place to visit. The guide was very knowledgeable about the art, but a little monotone. The place is incredible beautiful and clean; the nuns take care of it. Tickets are only 14€ for tourists but free for EU citizens.
Alex Cheyne (5 months ago)
What to say about this place? It is a convent which was endowed by several members of the Hapsburg Spanish royal family and consequently became very rich. To visit you have to join a guided tour (c. every 15 minutes, all in Spsnish when I went, and you may have yo buy tickets in advance). You can see a remarkable renaissance trump d'oeil staircase, a number of chapels, the choir containing a couple of tombs and then a number of rooms furnished with paintings and tapastries. I'll say again, the staircase is remarkable, but if you've been to the Prado, the Royal Palace, El Escorial etc, you won't have lacked for these. It is worth it? I thought so, despite my limited spanish, but if you are happy with just a taste of these things you may prefer to spend your time elsewhere.
J. (6 months ago)
The negative reviews are exaggerated. It is a one-hour tour, you are allowed to take photos, and the monastery is full of beautiful religious and/or renaissance artwork. The tour guide was lovely and spoke clear Spanish. The security personnel behind us was weird, but subpar customer service is normal in Madrid. It was interesting, and while I wouldn’t do it again, I enjoyed the beautiful art we were able to see. If you want to go in for free, make sure you check the hours online. We were in the queue and the last people to get the tickets; they have a limited amount of tickets, so go early. You can’t get the free tickets beforehand. You’re meant to be an EU citizen or resident, but they didn’t check for us.
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