The Charterhouse of Aula Dei (Spanish : Cartuja de Aula Dei) is a Carthusian monastery, or charterhouse, located about 10 kilometers north of the city of Zaragoza in Aragon, north-eastern Spain. It was declared a national monument on 16 February 1983.
The charterhouse was founded in 1563 by Hernando de Aragón, Archbishop of Zaragoza and grandson of the Catholic Monarchs. The architecture of the enclosed monastery was designed by Martín de Miteza to house thirty-six monks, a complement three times larger than the usual Carthusian community. This monastery, like most in Spain, was closed in 1836, and the monks expelled. The monastery was re-purchased in 1901 by the Carthusians for the exiled French communities of Valbonne and Vauclaire Charterhouses, who arrived in that year in Spain and occupied Aula Dei in 1902.
The major interior decoration consists of a cycle of 11 large frescoes round the monastic church on the Life of the Virgin painted between 1772 and 1774 by Francisco Goya. Only 7 of the original 11 frescoes now remain. The interior of the church, as would be expected for an enclosed community, was open until August 2012 to selected visitors only for a few hours each month. Because of the building's history of limited access, the frescoes remain largely unstudied, despite being perhaps Goya's most impressive early work. [1]
The Carthusian monks left the monastery in August 2012, but asked the Chemin Neuf Community to come and continue their mission of praying and welcoming the visitors. [2] As a non-cloistered community, Chemin Neuf is able to give access to the frescoes of Goya weekly (instead of monthly).
The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians, are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its own rule, called the Statutes, and their life combines both eremitical and cenobitic monasticism. The motto of the Carthusians is Stat crux dum volvitur orbis, Latin for 'The Cross is steady while the world turns'. The Carthusians retain a unique form of liturgy known as the Carthusian Rite.
Francisco Bayeu y Subías was a Spanish painter in the Neoclassic style, whose main subjects were religious and historical themes. He is best known for his frescoes. His brothers Ramón and Manuel were also well-known painters.
The Carthusian Martyrs of London were the monks of the London Charterhouse, the monastery of the Carthusian Order in the City of London who were put to death by the English state in a period lasting from the 4 May 1535 until the 20 September 1537. The method of execution was hanging, disembowelling while still alive and then quartering. Others were imprisoned and left to starve to death. The group also includes two monks who were brought to that house from the Charterhouses of Beauvale and Axholme and similarly dealt with. The total was 18 men, all of whom have been formally recognized by the Catholic Church as martyrs.
Granada Charterhouse is a Carthusian monastery in Granada, Spain. It is one of the finest examples of Spanish Baroque architecture.
Pisa Charterhouse, also Calci Charterhouse or Val Graziosa Charterhouse, is a former Carthusian monastery, now the home of the Pisa Museum of Natural History. It is 10 km outside Pisa, Tuscany, Italy, in the comune of Calci.
The Monastery of Santa María de las Cuevas, also known as the Monastery of the Cartuja (Charterhouse), is a religious building on the Isla de La Cartuja in Seville, southern Spain. The Andalusian Contemporary Art Center (The Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo (CAAC)) is now located on this site.
The Valldemossa Charterhouse is a palace in Valldemossa, Mallorca that was royal residence of the king Sancho of Majorca and later Royal Charterhouse of the Carthusians.
The Charterhouse of Jerez de la Frontera or Charterhouse of Santa María de la Defensión is a monastery in Jerez de la Frontera, Cádiz, Spain. Its architecture is of a Late Gothic style, corresponding to the start of construction in the 15th century, with Baroque aspects dating from the 17th century. The building, completed in the 17th century, has been protected by the Spanish government since the mid-19th century under a heritage listing.
Nuestra Señora de las Fuentes is a Carthusian monastery in Sariñena, province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain.
The Charterhouse of Las Fuentes is a Carthusian monastery, or charterhouse, in Aragon, Spain. It was established in 1507.
The Goya Murals in the Cartuja de Aula Dei are a cycle of mural paintings on the Life of the Virgin by Francisco de Goya, realised in secco, in the church of the Charterhouse of Aula Dei near Peñaflor de Gállego on the outskirts of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain.
Miraflores Charterhouse is an Isabelline style charterhouse, or Carthusian monastery of the Order of the Carthusians, built on a hill about three kilometres from the center of the Spanish city of Burgos, autonomous community of Castile and León.
San José Charterhouse is a Carthusian monastery dedicated to Saint Joseph which is located in the city of Deán Funes, Córdoba in Argentina. It is the third Carthusian monastery in the Americas and the second in Latin America.
Farneta Charterhouse, in Italian Certosa di Farneta is a Carthusian monastery (charterhouse) just north of Lucca, region of Tuscany, Italy.
The Ara Christi Charterhouse, or the Cartuja de Ara Christi, is a former Carthusian monastery located just outside the town of El Puig in the province of Valencia, Spain. The site now includes a hotel and utilizes the facilities for functions.
Porta Coeli Charterhouse, Cartuja de Porta Coeli or Cartuja Santa María de Porta Coeli, is a functioning Carthusian monastery 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.
Cartoixa d'Escaladei, or Chapterhouse of Scala Dei, was a monastery of the Carthusian order in the southern Catalonia. It was founded in the 12th century, was an important centre for art in the 17th century and started the planting of vines in the region that became later known as Priorat due to the vineyards of the monks.
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