Madrid - Monastery of the Barefoot Royal Nuns / Monasterio Descalzas Reales

In the middle of the 16th century, women of the royal family of Spain - from widowed Empresses to illegitimate daughters, - stole away to this cloistered monastery to take the veil. Each brought a rich dowry, making this Habsburg gem an important center of artistic patronage, and one of the wealthiest convents in the world.

The monastery was founded in 1559 by Juana de Austria, a daughter of the emperor Charles V, who became a widow when she only 19 years old. She returned to Spain to serve as regent for her brother Philip II when he married Mary Tudor and went to live in England. She never remarried and is buried here.

By the mid-20th century, the demographics of the convent had changed and royal patronage had ended. Despite the wealth contained within their building, the Poor Clare sisters had taken a vow of poverty, and were forbidden to sell any of their treasures. They were actually starving amongst a sea of art treasures.

Fortunately, the state intervened and they were granted special dispensation from the Pope to open the convent to the public as a museum in 1960.

The monastery is crammed with 10,000 works of art - paintings, frescoes, sculptures, tapestries, tiles, woodcarvings, embroidered vestments, liturgical gold and silverware -- product of hundreds of years of dowries and gifts of wealthy relatives.

Although the convent is famous for its artistic treasures, in the 16th century it was equally renowned for its music. This was largely due to Tomas Luis de Victoria, chaplain to the Empress Maria, who worked at the convent from 1587 to the end of his life in 1611, and infused his music with the religious mysticism typical of the Spanish Counter-Reformation. His "Salve Regina" is the soundtrack for this video.

The convent still houses a number of nuns, living in an enclosed order as solitaires and devoting their lives to prayer, contemplation, and the tending of their vegetable garden.

Today, the public can look behind the walls of what had previously been a mysterious presence on one of the most beautiful squares in Old Madrid.

Видео Madrid - Monastery of the Barefoot Royal Nuns / Monasterio Descalzas Reales канала La Polymita