Toledo - Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes

Northwest of the Judería is the Franciscan convent of San Juan de los Reyes, founded in 1476 after the victory over the Portuguese in the battle of Toro as the burial-place of the Catholic Monarchs and their descendants but not completed until the 17th century. The church, begun in 1553, has an Isabelline doorway by Covarrubias, and on the outer walls are the chains of Christians freed from Moorish captivity. Notable features of the sumptuous interior (by Juan Guas) are the friezes of the arms of the Catholic Monarchs supported by eagles in the transepts, the vaulting of the choir gallery and the retablo by Felipe Vigarny and Francisco de Comontes. The cloister (1504), to the southeast, is one of the finest achievements of Late Gothic architecture in Spain. The upper gallery has a very decorative artesonado ceiling.