The current site of the Menéndez Pelayo International University was a building that the Carmelite order of nuns bought in 1622 from Fernando Ruíz de Alarcón for a total of nine-hundred and seventy thousand Maravedis (Spanish currency of the time). It lies on the highest part of the city, on the River Huécar valley, within an area that has been declared a World heritage site by UNESCO. It was rebuilt on two occasions in the 17th century: in 1624, the stonework maestro Juan de Celaya made the modifications while in 1651 the carpenter Pedro García and the builder Antonio Velasco were entrusted with making the changes.