Monasterio de El Paular, Benedictine abbey in Rascafría, Spain.
El Paular Monastery is a former Carthusian abbey in Rascafría, located in the Lozoya river valley at the foot of the Sierra de Guadarrama mountains. The church features a single nave divided by an ornate wrought-iron grille and a sculpted alabaster altarpiece illustrating scenes from the life of Christ and the Virgin Mary, while the restored monks' cells now serve as exhibition spaces.
King Juan I of Castile founded the complex in 1390 as the first Carthusian monastery in Castile and entrusted it to the Order of Saint Bruno of Cologne. The church and cloister were expanded and rebuilt during the 15th century under the direction of master builders Juan Guas and later Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón.
The monastery maintains a collection of 52 large-format paintings by Vicenzio Carduccio illustrating the life of Saint Bruno of Cologne.
The monastery is located about 90 kilometers north of Madrid and can be reached by driving through the Lozoya valley along mountain roads. Visitors can join guided tours through the church, cloister, and cells, while parts of the complex occasionally host concerts and art exhibitions.
Painter Vicenzio Carducci created a series of 52 large paintings for the cloister between 1626 and 1632, depicting the life of Saint Bruno of Cologne. These works rank among the most important examples of Spanish Baroque painting and are now dispersed across multiple collections, though some remain in the monastery itself.
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