This peaceful old convent was first opened to the public in 1983 and is now a museum of monastic life (the few remaining nuns have moved into more modern neighbouring buildings). It stands at the top of Avinguda de Pedralbes in a residential area that was countryside until the 20th century, but which remains a divinely quiet corner of Barcelona.
The architectural highlight is the large, elegant, three-storey cloister, a jewel of Catalan Gothic, built in the early 14th century. Following its course to the right, stop at the first chapel, the Capella de Sant Miquel, whose murals were done in 1346 by Ferrer Bassá, one of Catalonia’s earliest documented painters. A few steps on is the ornamental grave of Queen Elisenda, who founded the convent. It is curious, as it is divided in two: the side in the cloister shows her dressed as a penitent widow, while the other part, an alabaster masterpiece inside the adjacent church, shows her dressed as queen.
As you head around the ground floor of the cloister, you can peer into the restored refectory, kitchen, stables, stores and a reconstruction of the infirmary – all giving a good idea of convent life. Eating in the refectory must not have been a whole lot of fun, judging by the exhortations to Silentium (Silence) and Audi Tacens (Listen and Keep Quiet) written around the walls. Harder still must have been spending one’s days in the cells on the ground and 1st floors in a state of near-perpetual prayer and devotional reading.
Upstairs is a grand hall that was once the Dormidor (sleeping quarters). It was lined by tiny night cells but they were long ago removed. Today a modest collection of the monastery’s art, especially Gothic devotional works, and furniture grace this space. Most is by largely unknown Catalan artists, with some 16th-century Flemish works, and was acquired thanks to the considerable wealth of the convent’s mostly high-class nuns.
Next to the convent, the sober church is an excellent example of Catalan Gothic.
