Convent de Santa Clara de Gandia, Gothic convent in Gandia, Spain

The Convent of Santa Clara is a cloistered convent of Colettine Poor Clares in central Gandia, near the Collegiate Basilica, on Plaça de María Enríquez de Luna. Its Valencian Gothic church, on the right side of the building, houses an altarpiece by Paolo da San Leocadio. The convent also keeps an art collection bequeathed by the Borgias, with works by Juan de Juanes, Francisco Salzillo and painters of the Ribalta school.

Founded in 1431 by Violante of Aragon, daughter of Alfonso of Aragon and Foix, Duke of Gandia. After her death the convent was nearly deserted until the Valencian noble Luis Vich y de Corbera restored it and welcomed ten nuns from Lézignan-Corbières, among them María Escarlata, sister of a French prince, fleeing a forced marriage. María Enríquez de Luna, Duchess of Gandia, entered as Sister Gabriela and was abbess from 1530 until her death nine years later; her daughter Francisca de Jesús de Borja governed from 1533 to 1548.

The church displays paintings by Spanish Renaissance artists including Juan de Juanes and Paolo de San Leocadio, many donated by noble families. These works shape the visual character of the interior spaces you encounter during a visit.

The complex is accessible on most days with the church area open for religious services at regular times. Visitors should dress appropriately and maintain quiet behavior as this remains an active place of worship with ongoing community activities.

The convent's cloistered courtyard holds an olive tree that tradition says was planted by Saint Francis Borgia. No photographs of the courtyard or the tree exist, since the enclosure is closed to visitors; only the Gothic church on the right side of the building can be entered.