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E L M O N A S T E
R I O D E P E D R A B L E S
April 20th -
Founded in 1327, The Monastery of Pedralbes has been home to
a community of nuns called The Poor Clares, the women's
order of St. Francis (Franciscan Friars). The building is
one of the finest examples of Catalan Gothic architecture.
The ensemble
consists of the church and the monastery, which is built around
the spacious three-story cloister, which is encircled by the
main rooms: the Dormitory, the Refectory, the Chapterhouse, the
Abbey, and the day cells. It contains A visit to the
Museum-Monastery of Pedralbes contains numerous works of
art, liturgical object and furniture the community of St. Clare
nuns has been collecting during the centuries they have lived
there.
A good collection
of furniture, which is the clearest indication of what daily
life in the monastery has been like, is conserved. The pieces
are mainly wardrobes, trousseau chests -- which the nuns brought
with them: trunks, chests, tables and chairs, in addition to two
choir music stands. A sixteenth-century chest that, according to
tradition, belonged to Queen Elisenda is outstanding, as is also
a chapel cabinet from the same period, which is also attributed
to her.
Also worth
noting, among other pieces, is a sixteenth-century chair called
a “friar’s chair”, which was used by the nuns when they met in
the chapterhouse. Another item that should be mentioned is the
music stand from the 14th-15th fifteenth century and one from
the sixteenth century bearing the Monastery of Montserrat coat
of arms.
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14th Century Inlaid chest |
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Tomb of Queen Elisenda de Moncada 14th century |
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