Located in Santiponce, the Monasterio de San Isidoro del Campo was founded somewhere near the Roman ruins of Itálica, by Alfonso Pérez de Guzmán and María Coronel Alonso in 1301, where according to tradition San Isidoro de Sevilla had been buried. His remains were discovered and moved to León in 1063.
Since its foundation, the monastery has been under the spiritual and temporary administration of different religious orders. In 1432 the Hieronymites of the Order of Saint Jerome significantly reformed the monastery which is reflected in the concept of monastic life and in the decoration.
In this unique fortress-monastery, with a double church, the Gothic style is juxtaposed with clear Languedoc and Mudejar influences, where the Almohad tradition is clearly visible. Unlike Cistercian austerity, the Hieronymite monastery is decorated with murals that make up what is possibly one of the most outstanding ensembles in Spain.
The monastery was extended and became richer over the centuries, eventually having a tower, a belfry, five cloisters and, next to the monastic quarters, the attorney general's quarters, a hostelry and the farming facilities expected of an institution aspiring to self-sufficiency.
During the Baroque, period, this medieval establishment was transformed with altarpieces (the two by Martínez Montañés on public display are worthy of special mention), stalls, new murals and plaster vaults.
References: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).