El Puig de Santa María Royal Monastery

The monastery is laid out in two different areas: the convent and the Virgen de Jaraba Sanctuary. Together they conform a grandiose rectangular building flanked by four sturdy towers.

The oldest part of today’s monastery is the Sanctuary, dedicated to the Virgin and patron saint of Valencia. Only the doorway remains of the primitive church with its single nave, built by order of James I in 1238. The current church was started in 1300 and finished in the middle of the 14th century. The statue of the Virgin stands in the main chapel of the sanctuary. The cenobium, the residence of the Mercedario monks, was designed by the architect Antón Dexado de la Cossa and built in 1588. The entrance to the convent is through its great door on the east façade. The visit revolves around the two cloisters. The first contains the refectory, a chapel, a Gothic hall and the Printing Museum. In the four wings there are numerous paintings by José Vergara (1726-1799) on display. The second cloister, where there are paintings by a range of artists (Vergara and Espinosa, among others), leads to the Salón Real (Royal Hall), the Hall of the Order of the Knights of el Puig and the church. The dome of the Camarín de la Virgen (Virgin’s chamber) is located behind the sanctuary’s main chapel, and is decorated by José Vergara.