Monastery of Saint Jerome - Granada, Spain
N 37° 10.773 W 003° 36.263
30S E 446350 N 4114961
The Monastery of St. Jerome Hieronymite monastery in Granada, Spain. Architecturally, it is in the Renaissance style.
Waymark Code: WMN1EY
Location: Andalucía, Spain
Date Posted: 12/07/2014
Views: 6
The monastery was originally founded by the Catholic Monarchs Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon in Santa Fe outside the city of Granada, during the siege of the latter city, the last stage of the Reconquista.
The construction of the current buildings in Granada properly began in 1504, and the monastery relocated at that time. The principal architect and sculptor was Diego de Siloé; others involved as architects or sculptors included Jacopo Torni (from Florence), Juan de Aragón, Juan Bautista Vázquez the Younger (Vázquez el Mozo), Pedro de Orea, and Pablo de Rojas, the last three associated with the Granadan school of sculpture.
The Hieronymites are an Augustinian order. The monastery church follows the usual plan for churches of this order, a Latin Cross with an elevated choir at the foot and the altar behind a wide staircase. The mannerist altarpiece of the main chapel is considered the point of departure of Andalusian sculpture as such; it is mainly the work of Pablo de Rojas. The richly decorated Renaissance interior features coffering, scalloping and sculptures, and is a late work of Renaissance humanism. The iconographic program highlights the military and the heroic grandeur of the Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, known as the Gran Capitán ("Great Captain"), who is buried in the crossing with his wife, Doña Maria de Manrique.
Although occupied again today by the same order of monks as at the time of its founding, the monastery has undergone many vicissitudes, including invasion by the French in the Napoleonic era during the Peninsular War. The Hieronymites were expelled and the monastery eventually became a near-ruin. The State undertook a restoration of the building in 1916–1920, hiring the architect Fernando Wihelmi for the job. The slender tower of the church had been demolished by the French, who used its stones to build the bridge known as the Puente Verde, which crosses the River Genil, linking the Paseo de la Bomba to the Avenida de Cervantes. Only in the 1980s was the tower re-erected; the project was completed in 1989.
Full name of the abbey/monastery/convent: Monasterio de San Jerónimo
Address:
Calle Rector López Argueta, 9
Granada, Spain
18001
Religious affiliation: Roman Catholic
Web Site: [Web Link]
Status of Use: Acitvely Used
Date founded/constructed: Not listed
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