Convento de San Francisco, Catholic church and sacred art museum in Medina de Rioseco, Spain

The Convento de San Francisco is a Catholic church in Medina de Rioseco dedicated to the Virgen de la Expectación, built against the remains of the medieval town wall. Of the original Franciscan complex only the church, some lateral cloister chapels, the cloister base, the Sala Capitular and the Refectory survive; the refectory now serves as the chapel of an elderly residence. The church and monastic remains house the Museo de San Francisco, a museum of sacred art.

Fadrique II Enríquez, Admiral of Castile, founded the convent as the second Franciscan monastery in Medina de Rioseco, after Valdescopezo, to serve as a burial place for his family. Of the original complex only the church, dedicated to the Virgin of the Expectation and built against the remains of the medieval wall, survives, along with some cloister chapels, the chapter house and the refectory.

The monastery displays religious artworks that show how faith was expressed through different artistic styles over time. You can see how the franciscan community used these pieces to decorate their spaces and teach spiritual lessons to visitors.

You can visit the building and its collections through organized visits that are arranged by contacting ahead. Plan to spend a couple of hours to see all the rooms and understand how the space was used.

The monastery was built partly on the foundations of an earlier medieval fortification, which you can still see today. Hidden staircases in service areas reveal how monks adapted the space for daily life and movement.