San Andrés de Arroyo
Key facts
- Type
- Monastery
- Religious order
- Cistercian
- Era
- 12th Century
- Architectural style
- Romanesque
- Founded
- 1181
- Current status
- Active
- Location
- Santibáñez de Ecla, Palencia
- Province
- Palencia
- Region
- Castilla y León
A 12th-century Cistercian nunnery with the most delicate Romanesque cloister capitals in Spain. The lace-like stone carving is unique in European Cistercian art.
Highlights
- Most delicate Romanesque capitals in Spain
- Active Cistercian nunnery for 800+ years
- Lace-like stone carving unique in Europe
- Peaceful Palentine countryside
More Monasteries in Castilla y León
- Monasterio de Santo Domingo de Silos — Benedictine, 11th Century. World-famous for its Romanesque cloister with exquisitely carved capitals and for the Gregorian chant recordings by its Benedictine monks that became an international bestseller.
- Real Monasterio de las Huelgas — Cistercian, 12th Century. A royal Cistercian convent founded by Eleanor of England and Alfonso VIII of Castile. Its abbess held extraordinary powers, able to grant titles, hear confessions, and rule over fifty villages.
- Monasterio de San Pedro de Cardeña — Cistercian, 10th Century. The legendary monastery where El Cid left his wife Doña Jimena and daughters before riding into exile. One of the most important sites in Cidian legend and Castilian history.
- Santa María de Moreruela — Cistercian, 12th Century. The ruins of what was possibly the first Cistercian monastery in the Iberian Peninsula. Its apse with radiating chapels is unique in Spanish Cistercian architecture.
Explore nearby: Castilla y León guide · Palencia province · Castles of Palencia