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Convent of Jesús y María de Huete

Huete, La Alcarria Conquense, Cuenca

1 Villages · 9 Monuments · 1 Nature · 2 Activities · 4 Historical milestones · 1 Food and drink

Spain › Castilla-La Mancha › Cuenca › La Alcarria Conquense › Huete › Convent of Jesús y María de Huete

Convent of Jesús y María de Huete

Monument · Huete, La Alcarria Conquense, Cuenca

Renaissance building in Huete (Cuenca) built between 1554 and 1576, notable for its triangular-plan bell tower, one of the few of this type existing in the world. It was founded by Marcos de Parada, archdeacon of Alarcón, as a retreat house for virtuous maidens and a pantheon for his family, on the site of the former hermitage of Santa Lucía, whose bell was reused in the new tower; once the works were finished it was occupied by nuns of the order of San Lorenzo Justiniano from Cuenca. It is one of the finest 16th-century buildings in the Cuenca area, arranged around a cloister of semicircular arches on paneled square pillars, a novelty in the diocese, and displays a Mannerist doorway attributed to the architect Andrés de Vandelvira, executed by Esteban Jamete. After the 1835 disentailment the church went on to house the parish of Santa María de Castejón, and the complex was declared a Monumento Histórico-Artístico Nacional (the heritage protection category used before the Bien de Interés Cultural status) in 1983.

Photo: Zarateman (CC0)

What to see and do in Huete