Royal Convent of Santa Clara

Historia

The Royal Convent of Santa Clara is a nunnery in Tordesillas, Spain. Founded by the king Pedro of Castile in 1363, this convent of Poor Clares is now under the administration of the Spanish national heritage organisation, the Patrimonio Nacional.It is noted for its mudéjar architecture, such as the ceiling of the church. The ceiling employs a type of decoration called artesonado. Santa Clara convent's saddest association is with Joanna I Queen of Castile and Aragon, the daughter of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, widow of Philip I of Castile and mother of his six children including Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor -- popularly known as Juana la loca (Joanna the mad) -- who was confined here for almost half a century until her death in 1555.