Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha

The vestiges of the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha are situated in the city of Coimbra, in Portugal. The religious community was worked in the fourteenth century on the left bank of the Mondego River, however must be deserted in the seventeenth century because of successive surges. The all around saved Gothic vestiges of the religious community were uncovered in the late twentieth century, over 300 years in the wake of being deserted by the nuns. The destroyed church as of late revived to the general population following 12 long periods of reclamations with another guest focus.

The Monastery of Santa Clara of Coimbra was established in the 1280s by Mor Dias as a place of the Order of the Poor Clares. This early religious community was broken up in 1311, however in 1314 it was refounded by Queen Elizabeth, spouse of King Denis of Portugal. Elizabeth was respected for her devout and beneficent nature, and her dedication prompted her canonisation in 1626. The castle of the Queen, of which just destroys remain, was situated close to the religious community.

During the hundreds of years the cloister and church were adorned with religious masterpieces that are currently scattered. The Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Nova, to which the nuns were migrated in the seventeenth century, houses three Gothic tombs which were likewise moved from Santa Clara-a-Velha, including that of Queen Isabel. Numerous gems of the cloister are currently in the Machado de Castro Museum in Coimbra. Painted altarpieces incorporate a triptych of around 1486 about the life of Clare of Assisi and a painted triptych authorized to Flemish painter Quentin Metsys in 1517. Others bits of model and metalwork in the exhibition hall vouch for the riches and eminence of the religious community.