From San Benito to San Mancio

Only three parts of the Royal Monastery of San Benito still remain: the chapel of San Mancio, the tower and the arch of San Benito.

The chapel of San Mancio was originally dedicated to San Benito. The town clock was installed in the tower of the Royal Monastery of San Benito, until the church was destroyed in 1835. The arch of San Benito was originally the door into the church, although today it is entered from one of the town’s main thoroughfares. The chapel of San Mancio has one of the first Mudéjar-style walls on the peninsula. The ruins of the chapel of San Mancio were declared a National Monument in 1931. The Royal Monastery of San Benito is the most representative example of the Benedictine churches existing at that time on the peninsula. The monastery was almost completely destroyed during the Peninsular Wars and in a series of fires.