We are back to my dear Spain again !! love it !! We came by car of course and took time to see new areas and old repeat with some of them as introduction to my sons and our dog Rex ! I came into Valladolid after several years and it was sublime ! I like to continue my road warrior stories with Valladolid, Therefore, here is my take on the Church Monastery San Benito El Real of Valladolid !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
The town of Valladolid is in the province of Valladolid, in the Autonomous Community of Castilla y Léon, only 202 km from from Madrid. This is a wonderful church which I saw first the monastery and from the first look thought it was a government building…..me… Now let me tell you about the real thing.
The Church Monastery San Benito el Real, of the Benedictine Order, is one of Valladolid’s oldest temples. It was erected on the old Royal Alcazar, and is made in Gothic style, although the facade in the form of the porch tower is posterior. The facade is from 569. Originally, this tower possessed much more height due to the existence of two other bodies for the bell tower, which were on the current ones, and which were demolished in the 19C by fear of falling in ruins. The church was built between 1499 and 1515, totally built in stone.
The Church Monastery San Benito el Real is organized through three nerfs, which auction in three polygonal apses and there is no transept. The lateral nerfs are very high and their height difference with the plant is scarce, so we can say that this church follows the typology of Church-Salon, widespread in the first half of the 16C, creating churches of an interesting and great spatiality like the one that is here. The lighting is resolved from large holes, which open the wall of the side nerf on the side of the epistle and in the apseides.
On the outside, the church has strong limestone walls and large windows that illuminate the spacious interior. Taking into account that the Benedictine order then had a lot of power and this being its main house in Castilla, the church would house treasure of high quality works of art. Among the treasures that were in the Church Monastery San Benito El Real , the altarpiece ,and the Choir stalls, which was in the central nerf. As for the choir stalls, this was built and finished in 1528. Decorations appear that are based on the paintings of the Domus Aurea of Rome and that at that time were being discovered and were studied by all the artists who had the opportunity to it. The images of saints have also totally abandoned the gothic forms and due to their beauty and proportions studied, the beat of humanism is perceived. The quality of the sculpture is very high and many authors claim that this is one of the best existing silles in Spain.
In 1571 the fence that covers the three nerfs was settled and transversely divides the church into two hierarchical parts: that of the feet, destined for the common people, and that of the header, destined for the monks. After the confiscation of Mendizábal in 1835 (separation of church and state), the monastery became fort and barracks, closing the church to the cult, which was stripped of the works of art it possessed. Luckily, they kept the choir stalls, and much of the main altarpiece at the National Museum of San Gregorio de Valladolid. The fence is the only thing that remained in the church and did not suffer hardly damage. From the mid -19C, many voices asked for the reopening of the church; and finally it is achieved in 1892, being in charge of the cult the venerable third order of Carmen. Since 1897 it is the Order of Carmen Descalzo that takes over the Church Monastery San Benito El Real. In 1922 a new Baroque main altarpiece was installed, from the Cathedral of Valladolid after settling in that the current Juan de Juni. Adjoining the church is the great monacal building, which has three cloisters, one of them the well -known Herrerian patio, today Museum of Contemporary Art, and a main mannerist facade.
The Valladolid tourist office on the Church Monastery of San Benito el Real : https://www.info.valladolid.es/en/detalle-monumento/-/asset_publisher/YazOkPDbnVzD/content/lugares-monumentos-san-benito
There you go folks , another wonderful nostalgic, sentimental trip to my dear Spain, Valladolid is nice, awesome will say back after so many years it seems all for the first time, and love it ! We will be back, eventually, Again, hope you enjoy this post on the Church Monastery San Benito el Real of Valladolid as I
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 