Convent of Santa Clara

Anyone visiting Villacastín, in the province of Segovia, will find in the Convent of Santa Clara one of those buildings that speak of the weight religious life carried in the villages of 17th-century Castile. It is a place to take in slowly, knowing that behind its walls the secluded life of an enclosed community has unfolded for generations.

Its history begins with a very precise date: 1 January 1621, when building work got under way. The driving force came from the Counts of Molina de Herrera, Don Pedro Mexía de Tovar and Doña Clara de Paz, together with Juan Pedraza. It hardly seems a coincidence that the foundation bore the name of Saint Clare, in keeping with that of the countess herself and with the order for which it was intended.

The design and construction of the building were entrusted to Pedro de Pedrosa and Andrés Merinero, the master builders responsible for bringing the project to life. Work went on for just over a decade, a reasonable timescale for a building of this kind at the time, until the complex was ready to welcome its community.

That moment came on 4 December 1632, when the Franciscan Poor Clare nuns took up residence in the convent. From then on, the building was bound to the order founded in the spirit of Saint Francis and Saint Clare, with its characteristic life of prayer and withdrawal.

A visit to Santa Clara is, in short, a good excuse to stop off in Villacastín and discover how the local nobility and master builders of the early 17th century left their mark on the town's landscape. It is well worth exploring the exterior carefully and letting yourself be carried away by the serenity so typical of enclosed convents.