Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha

Last updated
View of the church Coimbra December 2011-7.jpg
View of the church
Plan Mosteiro de Santa Clara-a-Velha.jpg
Plan

The ruins of the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha (Old St. Clare) are located in the city of Coimbra, in Portugal. The monastery was built in the 14th century on the left bank of the Mondego River, but had to be abandoned in the 17th century due to frequent floods. The well-preserved Gothic ruins of the monastery were excavated in the late 20th century, more than 300 years after being abandoned by the nuns.

Contents

Ruined Eastern apse of the church of the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha. The main chapel in the middle of the facade lost its stone roof Coimbra-StClaraVelha-CCBY.jpg
Ruined Eastern apse of the church of the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha. The main chapel in the middle of the façade lost its stone roof

The ruined church recently reopened to the public after 12 years of restorations with a new visitor center.

History

Middle Ages

The Monastery of Santa Clara of Coimbra was founded in the 1280s by Mor Dias as a house of the Order of the Poor Clares. This early monastery was dissolved in 1311, but in 1314 it was refounded by Queen Elizabeth, wife of King Denis of Portugal. Elizabeth was admired for her pious and charitable nature, and her devotion led to her canonisation in 1626. The palace of the Queen, of which only ruins remain, was located near the monastery.

The works sponsored by the Queen started in 1316 on the same spot of the previous foundation and gave rise to the ensemble that exists today. The first architect associated with the monastery was Domingos Domingues, who had worked on the cloisters of the Monastery of Alcobaça. His work was continued after 1326 by Estêvão Domingues, who had worked on the cloisters of Lisbon Cathedral. The church was consecrated in 1330 and shows the influence of the Alcobaça building in its floorplan and many other architectural details. Elizabeth died in 1336 and was buried in the monastery in an impressive Gothic tomb. A large cloister was built to the south side of the church within the same 14th century.

Already in 1331 the monastery and church had been flooded by the nearby Mondego River. The site of the foundation proved to be unsuitable, as the monastery was repeatedly invaded by the waters of the river in the following centuries. The nuns of the monastery responded by elevating the floor levels of the monastic buildings to reduce the damage caused by the floods. In spite of the problems, the monastery was frequently enriched by donations. In the early 16th century, under King Manuel I, the church was decorated with Sevillian tiles and several painted altarpieces.

View of the ruined cloisters and South facade of the church with rose window and bell tower. Coimbra-StClaraVelha-IPPAR.jpg
View of the ruined cloisters and South façade of the church with rose window and bell tower.

Decay and rescue

Around 1612, as the river flooded the monastery every year, the nuns built an elevated pavement in the church half way to the roof. Finally, in 1647, as the frequent floods made life in the monastery impossible, King John IV ordered the nuns to abandon the structure. The last nuns left the ensemble in 1677, as a new monastery, called Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Nova (New St. Clare) was built on a hill nearby. The Gothic tombs of Queen Isabel and other royal princesses were transferred to the new building.

As the centuries passed, the old monastery fell into ruin and became partially covered by the marshes of the Mondego River. Its historical and architectural importance led to it being declared a National Monument in 1910, and some conservation works were done in the first half of the 20th century. After 1995, a large archaeological campaign led by the Instituto Português do Património Arquitectónico cleared the mud and water from the ruins, which were found to be in a remarkable good state of conservation. The excavations allowed for the recovery of a large number of architectural and decorative fragments and a better understanding of the monastery plan. In 2006 the building of an interpretation centre and new tours were estimated at 27 million euro and the project completed in April 2009. [1]

Art and architecture

Ruins

Saint-Clara-a-Velha monastery, Coimbra Most sta clara a velha 3.JPG
Saint-Clara-a-Velha monastery, Coimbra

The floorplan of the church of the Monastery of Santa Clara reveals the influence of the Monastery of Alcobaça. The church nave has a nave and two aisles and is fully covered with stone vaulting, something rare in mendicant monastic foundations in Portugal, which usually used wooden roofs over the nave. Another influence of Alcobaça is seen in the vault types: pointed barrel vault in the nave and groin vault in the side aisles. The structure of the columns of the nave also resembles Alcobaça. The nave is illuminated by tall mullioned windows of Gothic design and three rose windows. Unlike Alcobaça, the church of Santa Clara lacks a prominent transept.

The nave used to be divided in two parts, one of public access and the other reserved for the nuns, separated by a dividing wall. An elevated choir, now lost, used to house Queen Isabel's tomb. The apse of the church has three chapels of polygonal shape, the central chapel being the largest. The central chapel has lost its stone roof and used to be illuminated by three windows.

A portal on the South façade of the church connects it with the cloister ruins, which have been preserved up to the level of the double columns of the arches. The capitals are decorated with vegetable motifs. Also visible are the remains of a Gothic fountain with a circular basin.

The excavations also revealed the foundations of the chapter house, refectory, a smaller cloister and the old palace of Queen Elizabeth.

Artwork

During the centuries the monastery and church were decorated with religious works of art that are now dispersed. The Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Nova, to which the nuns were relocated in the 17th century, houses three Gothic tombs which were also relocated from Santa Clara-a-Velha, including that of Queen Isabel. Her tomb, dated from circa 1330, displays her full-size recumbent figure over the lid and is by Aragonese sculptor Mestre Pero.

Many works of art of the monastery are now in the Machado de Castro Museum in Coimbra. Painted altarpieces include a triptych of circa 1486 about the life of Clare of Assisi and a painted triptych commissioned to Flemish painter Quentin Metsys in 1517 . Others pieces of sculpture and metalwork in the museum testify to the wealth and prestige of the monastery.

See also

Footnotes

  1. Article on the Correio da Manhã newspaper.

Related Research Articles

Lisbon Cathedral

The Cathedral of Saint Mary Major, often called Lisbon Cathedral or simply the , is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in Lisbon, Portugal. The oldest church in the city is the seat of the Patriarchate of Lisbon. Built in 1147, the cathedral has survived many earthquakes and has been modified, renovated and restored several times. It is nowadays a mix of different architectural styles. It has been classified as a National Monument since 1910.

Coimbra Municipality in Centro, Portugal

Coimbra is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of 319.40 square kilometres (123.3 sq mi). The fourth-largest urban centre in Portugal, it is the largest city of the district of Coimbra and the Centro Region. About 460,000 people live in the Região de Coimbra, comprising 19 municipalities and extending into an area of 4,336 square kilometres (1,674 sq mi).

Vila do Conde Municipality in Norte, Portugal

Vila do Conde is a municipality in the Norte Region of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 79,533, in an area of 149.03 km². The urbanized area of Vila do Conde, which includes the parishes of Vila do Conde, Azurara and Árvore, represent 36,137 inhabitants. Vila do Conde is interlinked to the north with Póvoa de Varzim, forming a single urban agglomeration which is a part of the Porto Metropolitan Area. The town is on the Portuguese Way of the Camino de Santiago.

Elizabeth of Portugal Queen consort of Portugal

Elizabeth of Aragon, more commonly known as Saint Elizabeth of Portugal, T.O.S.F., was queen consort of Portugal, a tertiary of the Franciscan Order and is venerated as a saint of the Catholic Church.

Batalha Monastery

The Monastery of Batalha is a Dominican convent in the municipality of Batalha, in the district of Leiria, in the Centro Region of Portugal. Originally, and officially, known as the Monastery of Saint Mary of the Victory, it was erected in commemoration of the 1385 Battle of Aljubarrota and would serve as the burial church of the 15th-century Aviz dynasty of Portuguese royalty. It is one of the best and original examples of Late Flamboyant Gothic architecture in Portugal, intermingled with the Manueline style.

Old Cathedral of Coimbra

The Old Cathedral of Coimbra is a Romanesque Roman Catholic building in Portugal. Construction of the Sé Velha began some time after the Battle of Ourique (1139), when Prince Afonso Henriques declared himself King of Portugal and chose Coimbra as capital. The first Count of Coimbra, the Mozarab Sisnando Davides, is buried in the cathedral.

Alcobaça Monastery

The Alcobaça Monastery is a Catholic monastic complex located in the town of Alcobaça, in central Portugal, some 120 km north of Lisbon. The monastery was established in 1153 by the first Portuguese king, Afonso Henriques, and would develop a close association with the Portuguese monarchy throughout its seven-century-long history.

Monastery of Jesus of Setúbal

The Monastery of Jesus is a historical religious building in Setúbal, Portugal, which served a monastery of Poor Clare nuns. It is one of the first buildings in the Manueline style, the Portuguese version of late Gothic. The cloisters of the complex houses a museum of the monastery.

Monastery of Santa Clara

Monastery of Santa Clara or Convent of Santa Clara in Vila do Conde, Portugal was one of the biggest and richest feminine convents in Portugal, founded in 1318, by Afonso Sanches and his wife, Teresa Martins Telo.

Santa Chiara, Naples

Santa Chiara is a religious complex in Naples, Italy, that includes the Church of Santa Chiara, a monastery, tombs and an archeological museum. The Basilica church of Santa Chiara faces Via Benedetto Croce, which is the easternmost leg of Via Spaccanapoli. The church facade of Santa Chiara is diagonally across from the church of Gesù Nuovo.

Diogo de Boitaca

Diogo de Boitaca was an influential architect and engineer of some of the most important Portuguese buildings, working in Portugal in the first half of the 16th century.

Portuguese Architecture

Portuguese architecture refers to both the architecture of present-day Portugal's territory in Continental Portugal, the Azores and Madeira, as well as the architectural heritage/patrimony of Portuguese architects and styles throughout the world, particularly in countries formerly part of the Portuguese Empire.

Spanish Gothic architecture

Spanish Gothic architecture is the style of architecture prevalent in Spain in the Late Medieval period.

Portuguese Gothic architecture

Portuguese Gothic architecture is the architectural style prevalent in Portugal in the Late Middle Ages. As in other parts of Europe, Gothic style slowly replaced Romanesque architecture in the period between the late 12th and the 13th century. Between the late 15th and early 16th century, Gothic was replaced by Renaissance architecture through an intermediate style called Manueline.

Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Nova

The Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Nova is a monastery in Coimbra, Portugal. It was built to replace the mediaeval Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha, located nearby, which at the time was prone to frequent flooding by the waters of the Mondego river. The monastery was built in the 17th and 18th centuries and is classified as a National Monument. It is located in the Santa Clara parish.

Santa Clara, Coimbra

Santa Clara is a former civil parish in the municipality of Coimbra, Portugal. In 2013, the parish merged into the new parish Santa Clara e Castelo Viegas. It has a population of 9637 (2001) and an area of 9.77 km². It is an urban parish, in the city Coimbra, and on the south of the Mondego river.

Sangalhos Civil parish in Centro, Portugal

Sangalhos is a town and a civil parish in the municipality of Anadia, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 4,068, in an area of 16.90 km².

Portuguese Romanesque architecture

The Romanesque style of architecture was introduced in Portugal between the end of the 11th and the beginning of the 12th century. In general, Portuguese cathedrals have a heavy, fortress-like appearance, with crenellations and few decorative elements apart from portals and windows. Portuguese Romanesque cathedrals were later extensively modified, among others the Old Cathedral of Coimbra, although it only had some minor changes.

Saint Clares Convent (Pontevedra) Gothic convent and church in Pontevedra, Spain

The Convent of St. Clare is a former convent of the Order of Poor Clares, located in the city centre of Pontevedra, Spain, precisely in Santa Clara Street, near the old St. Clare Gate of the old city walls.

References

Coordinates: 40°12′09.92″N8°26′00.38″W / 40.2027556°N 8.4334389°W / 40.2027556; -8.4334389