Madrid Tourist Info
Location
Monastery of the Incarnation
The Royal Monastery of the Incarnation (Real Monasterio de la Encarnación) is a convent of the order of Recolet Augustines.
The institution mainly interned women from noble families, and was founded by the Queen Margaret of Austria,
wife of Philip III. The monastery was built adjacent to the then extant Real Alcázar, and had a passageway to
allow the royals direct access. The monastery was inaugurated in the 2nd of July of 1616, a few years after the
queen had died.
The architect and friar Alberto de la Madre de Dios designed and built the monastery between 1611-1616.
The facade has a sobriety recalling the style of Juan de Herrera.
After a destructive fire, it was rebuilt by Ventura Rodriguez in 1767.
Nestled in a little square between the Royal Palace and Plaza España, the Monastery is the second of Central
Madrid's royal monasteries.
The monastery, now partly a museum, has a wealth of works of art and relics including tubes with the blood of
St. Januarius and of St. Pantaleon. The most important and interesting of these is the blood of Saint
Pantaleon, which is kept in a glass orb. Every year on July 26, the eve of his feast day, the blood is
said to miraculously liquefy. If it does not, then disaster is sure to follow.
The convent includes a cloister and a fine Baroque church. The interior of the church was redecorated in
the 18th century, including frescoes in the ceiling of the main chapel by Francisco Bayeu, and a large
collection of 17th-century art.
The monastery is still active today, but the nuns stay out of sight during visiting hours.
As at the Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales, visits to the Monasterio de la Encarnación are by guided tours
in Spanish only.
Directions:
Plaza de la Encarnación, 1
28013 Madrid
Phone: 91 454 88 00, Fax: 91 542 69 47
http://www.patrimonionacional.es/
Open:
Tuesday to Saturday: 10:00 to 14:00 and 16:00 to 18:30.
Sundays and holidays: 10:00 to 15:00.
Closed:
Every Monday.
* Lines 5 and 2 - Ópera station.
