In the 1950s, a large part of this building was restored and one characteristic was the re-growth of the bell tower, adding one more floor and replacing its slate roof with a new gabled tile roof. That is why this rectangular tower has five floors and houses 4 bells.
"It was built in the 13th century, ouside the walled citadel. The Franciscan order used to move its temples away from the cities. It has been speculated that the Franciscan fathers took advantage of the existence of a pre-Romanesque temple, in the current location, to settle in our city (signs such as a fragment of a pre-Romanesque gate, currently inscribed in the wall of the cloister, give reasons for those who maintain this theory) .
It preserves signs of Avilés' historical identity, such as the baptismal font: an alabaster capital, which many experts point to as one of the few vestiges of the rule of the Roman Empire in Avilés at the beginning of the Christian era.
Over the centuries, the convent underwent numerous modifications and what is preserved as authentic is the portico of the north façade, an architectural transition from Romanesque to Gothic. From the 17th century is the cloister, which incorporates a Romanesque chapter house from the 13th century. From this century it is also an interesting fresco, discovered a short time ago."
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