Royal Monastery of Santa María de Sigena ( es, Real Monasterio de Santa María de Sigena) is a convent in
Villanueva de Sigena
Villanueva de Sigena or Villanueva de Sijena is a town in the county of Los Monegros, in the northern province of Huesca, in Aragon (Spain). Located near the Alcanadre river, the local economy is primarily agricultural-based.
The Royal Monastery ...
, region of
Aragon
Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. Built between 1183 and 1208, the
Romanesque church was founded by Queen
Sancha of Castile, wife of
Alfonso II of Aragon
Alfonso II (1–25 March 1157Benito Vicente de Cuéllar (1995)«Los "condes-reyes" de Barcelona y la "adquisición" del reino de Aragón por la dinastía bellónida» p. 630-631; in ''Hidalguía''. XLIII (252) pp. 619–632."Alfonso II el Casto, hi ...
.
The General Archive of the
Crown of Aragon
The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of B ...
, the official repository of royal documentation of the Crown since the reign of Alfonso II (12th century), was located in this monastery until the year 1301.
The convent church is based on the shape of the Latin cross. It has a single
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
, a wide
transept
A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...
and three apse chapels. There are also elements from
Cistercian
The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...
and
Mudéjar
Mudéjar ( , also , , ca, mudèjar , ; from ar, مدجن, mudajjan, subjugated; tamed; domesticated) refers to the group of Muslims who remained in Iberia in the late medieval period despite the Christian reconquest. It is also a term for ...
architecture such as in the roofs and windows. The main entrance portal features fourteen
archivolt
An archivolt (or voussure) is an ornamental moulding or band following the curve on the underside of an arch.
It is composed of bands of ornamental mouldings (or other architectural elements) surrounding an arched opening, corresponding to the ...
s.
History
The convent was operated by the
Order of Saint John of Jerusalem
The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headqu ...
. It flourished in the 14th century thanks to royal support but declined after the crown of Aragon merged with
Castile. Several royal burials were made in the convent church, including
Sancha of Castile, Queen of Aragon
Sancha of Castile (21 September 1154/5 – 9 November 1208) was the only surviving child of King Alfonso VII of Castile by his second wife, Richeza of Poland. On January 18, 1174, she married King Alfonso II of Aragon at Zaragoza; they had a ...
, who lived out her last years and died there after being marginalized by her son
Pedro II of Aragon
Peter II the Catholic (; ) (July 1178 – 12 September 1213) was the King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona from 1196 to 1213.
Background
Peter was born in Huesca, the son of Alfonso II of Aragon and Sancha of Castile. In 1205 he acknowledge ...
, who is also interred there along with two of his sisters.
In 1835, after the