Restoration of Santa María de la Rábida monastery

Palos de la Frontera, Huelva, Andalucía.

Dating of the building: 15th century.

Applicant: Palos de la Frontera Town Council.

Reason for the award :

For the meticulous restoration work in the historic monastery of La Rábida.

The commemoration of the fifth centenary led to the final restoration of one of the landmarks on any of Columbus’ routes.

The monastery of Santa María de la Rábida is a must on any Columbus’ routes. We know that his Franciscan monks played a vital role as advisers to Christopher Columbus before his first voyage to America. The monastery, characteristic for its simplicity and austerity typical of the order of Saint Francis, was built in the 15th century. The confiscation of Mendizábal produced the secularizing of its community of friars and their suppression, and only in 1920 did regular monastic activity return to its walls.

The first restorations, as a result of a fire during the Civil War, were carried out between 1963 and 1965. However, it was only in the commemoration of the fifth centenary of the discovery of America that the final restoration of the complex was undertaken, including that of the frescoes by Daniel Vázquez Díaz.

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