Ávila - Convento de Santa Teresa

On the south side of the old town, opposite the gate now known as the Puerta de la Santa, there formerly stood the house in which Santa Teresa was born. The site is now occupied by the church (1638) of the Convento de Santa Teresa de Jesús, a convent of Discalced Carmelite nuns. Over the doorway in the relatively plain Baroque facade is a statue of the saint. The main feature of the interior, reached from the north transept, is the room in which Santa Teresa was born, now converted into a lavishly decorated Baroque chapel. On the altar is a statue (by Gregorio Fernández) of the saint at the moment of her vision of the Cross, richly ornamented and decked with jewelery and precious fabrics.