SAN AGUSTIN

MONASTERY
CECILIA MERINO SÁNCHEZ 2ºA
 ◦ Geographic Situation
◦ History
INDEX ◦ Highlighted parts or elementes
◦ State of conservation
GEOGRAPHICAL
SITUATION
◦ Originally the monastery
was located in Hornillos
de Cerrato (Palencia),
but in 1589, the nuns and
the monastery moved to
the capital, Palencia.
Currently the monastery
and the church are both
located on Calle Mayor
HISTORY
◦ The monastery was founded in the 14th
century in the town of Hornillos de Cerrato
under the name of Nuestra Señora de
Belvis, being governed by the order of
Canonesses Regular of San Agustín, by will of
the prior of Santa María de Valladolid
Martín Pérez de Zamora. In the year 1589 the
nuns moved to the city of Palencia, beginning
then the construction of the current monastic
complex. Six years after the transfer, they were
also joined by Augustinian nuns from the
Monastery of Santa Eugenia de Vertavillo, and
since then the two religious communities have
been merged.
◦ The monastery saw the centuries go by with
hardly any changes until the 19th century, when
during the Confiscation of Mendizábal, this
religious house was suppressed. The sisters then
marched to the nearby Convent of
the Agustinas Recoletas, whose community was
not affected by the confiscation measures.

Returning to the buildings on Calle Mayor after

this parenthesis, the nuns remained there until
the end of the 20th century, when they decided
to move to the outskirts of the capital of Palencia.
The temple, after a closed time, was authorized
by the Diocese of Palencia as the church of San
Agustín.
For a few years, before being dedicated again to worship, it housed
artistic exhibitions, such as the one dedicated to the Palencia sculptor
Victorio Macho.
 HIGHLIGHTED
PARTS OR ELEMENTS
◦ Of the monastic complex, part of the convent rooms remain,
structured around a small courtyard, and the church. Both
present their facades to the Calle Mayor, and contrast by
the different construction elements used and periods to
which they belong.

The part corresponding to the dwelling and other monastic

dependencies shows a façade with original wounded brickwork
on a masonry stone plinth. For the most part it is the
result of a reform carried out in the 20th century by the
architect Jerónimo Arroyo, who distributed different
heraldic elements to symbolize the new use of the building
as municipal offices: castles that represent the kingdom of
Castilla and the Cruz de las Navas that King Alfonso VIII
granted the city. Neoplateresque elements predominate in the
design of the windows, while the very framework and the
highly decorated cornice refer to the Castilian Mudejar,
thus achieving a happy and harmonious combination of
architectural styles in keeping with the architectural
Eclecticism in force at that time.
◦ An original doorway from the 16th century, in ashlar stone,
with a molded central arch and two slender Ionic columns
with fluted shafts on plinths, is also integrated into the
façade, which was undoubtedly taken by the 19th-century
architect to establish the compositional module of the
others. facade elements.

The façade of the conventual church stands out for its

solemn nakedness. It is made entirely of ashlar stone, in
contrast to the rest of the building's fixtures. Its design
and decoration show the simplicity of Escorial that
predominated in architecture in Spain at the end of the 16th
century and the beginning of the following century. It is
structured in two bodies separated by a slight molding with
a triangular pediment finish with balls.
Two caissoned pilasters without base or capital cover the
entire height of the façade, emphasizing its verticality;
They are the only decorative concession next to the portal,
formed by a large architrave opening with a straight
pediment supported by corbels. A small niche with the image
of Saint Augustine, the founder of the Order, and two
heraldic motifs complete the decoration.
◦ The interior of the temple exemplifies the severity and grandeur of
the so-called Jesuit style that marked the transition in Spain from
Renaissance to Baroque architecture. It is a wide and diaphanous
space, without the spatial divisions typical of medieval temples. Nor
does it have attached chapels or sacristies, clearly perceiving the
plan of a Latin cross with a transept with short arms with a dome,
which does not have a drum or openings to the outside. The single nave
is very high, with a barrel-vaulted roof, a high choir at the foot of
the temple -originally intended for the trades of the nuns and closed
by a grating-, square head and half-orange dome on pendentives in the
transept. . The decoration is simple, dividing the space by means of
flat pilasters of the Tuscan order, finished off with a highly molded
cornice and decorations of plaques and diamond points that are
distributed in arches and vaults.

◦
◦ The movable heritage of the temple is interesting. The
monumental main altarpiece stands out, an outstanding
example of Castilian Baroque, within the style of
the Churriguera family. It was designed by the master
Ventura Ramos, who left it unfinished at his death in 1756,
and finished by Domingo de Ondátegui, Juan Manuel Becerril
and Manuel Ramos in 1759. It has three bodies and five
streets, separated by Corinthian columns with profuse
decoration. . It is a mixed altarpiece, with round paintings
and sculptures sheltered in niches. The movement and
dynamism of the ensemble stand out, as well as the
monumental effect of the giant order columns and the flying
angels and figures of virtues that adorn the top.
◦ Several minor altarpieces are
distributed in the transept and the
nave. Most of them correspond to the
Rococo period (beginning of the 18th
century), with variegated decorations,
torso columns, etc., typical of this
style, and mostly modern images. In
the nave, however, there are
two previous copies, from the end of
the 16th or beginning of the 17th
century. They are inscribed
in monumental aedicules of work,
Corinthian, with moved and original
auctions with scrolls and balls. Both
are centered by fine paintings in the
Mannerist style, featuring Saint
Sebastian and Saint John the Baptist.
 STATE OF
CONSERVATION
◦ Of its buildings, part of
the convent rooms remain,
used as offices of the
Palencia City Council,
and the church, open for
worship under the name of
San Agustín church.