Photo Tour: Monestir de Pedralbes (Barcelona)

This monastery, founded nearly 700 years ago, is a hidden, tranquil refuge, seemingly light-years away from the noise, parties, tourist buses and bustle of the Barcelona city center. Located in the Sarrià neighborhood, not far from the United States Consulate, you’ll find here a quiet place to relax… to meditate… to contemplate the passing of the centuries.

For most tourists, it is not usually on the short list of places to visit, so you normally don’t find the cruise ship/nuclear bus crowds here. Still, I would choose a weekday for maximim peace and quiet.

El Monestir de Santa Maria de Pedralbes

The original monastery was founded in 1326 by Jaume II of Aragon for his wife, Elisenda of Montcada, and, in its nearly seven centuries, has seen periods of neglect and disrepair as well as periods of renovation and reconstruction. Today, it is beautifully restored and now houses a museum with some choice 14th to 20th century artifacts on display.

The cloister in the interior is the go-to place if you’d like to connect to your Higher Power, the Great Spirit, the Universe, the Flying Spaghetti Monster, God, Allah, Buddha, Brahma… or if you’d simply just like to watch the clouds drift by and listen to the trickle of the fountain and the twitter-whistles of the song birds.

The monastery is currently active, with the nuns (the Order of Saint Clare, or Poor Clares) housed and working in a nearby building.

Some Photography Notes

You will be asked to leave your backpack/large purse in a locker at the entrance, so don’t plan on carrying anything very large into the monastery–so no tripods.

On one visit, I hand-carried my D850 with the 24-70mm lens attached. I carried an additional lens (the 14-24mm wide angle) inside a jacket pocket, but forget to use it in the few instances when it would have been useful. On a subsequent visit, I simply used my iPhone.

With a DSLR, plan on dialing your ISO up and down constantly to account for very different lighting conditions. I was able to hand-hold at ISO 64 outside, and in the courtyard… but needed to dial up to ISO 3200 at one point to photograph inside one of the darker rooms. With your mobile phone, just point and shoot, although HDR mode might be helpful in places of high contrast.

For these kinds of photo visits, I prefer an overcast day to avoid fighting those previously mentioned contrast extremes you will find with a harsh and unobstructed Mediterranean sun at its apogee.

[NOTE: As of April, 2021, the church itself remains closed due to COVID restrictions, although the rest of the site is open. You can check current prices, schedule, exhibits, closures, and so on, at their English language website HERE.]

Try this little game as you scroll down: Can you tell which of the following photographs came from a 45mp camera and which came from a mobile phone? The point is… for simple web use, you really don’t need massive megapixel counts to make acceptable pictures. Of course, if you want a large print, or more flexibility in low light situations and during post-processing, that’s quite a different story….

The Monochrome Images

This is one of two archways through which you might walk to get to the monastery. The church bell tower rises above and, on the left, are buildings that, at one time, were the necessary shops–butcher, bakery, etc:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #3, Barcelona, 2021

This attractive building, directly across the cobbled street from the Monastery visitor’s entrance, is known as the “Little Convent (el Conventet) and currently is not part of the Monastery. It used to be, though–from the early 14th century until the early 19th century, Franciscan monks apparently lived there–until the 1830s when the property was confiscated by the Spanish government. Although the original structure went up in 1329, what you see now is the result of renovations in 1919 by the architect Entic Sagnier. If your curiosity leads you to look through the gate, you can see it has a small but elegant little cloister of its own:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #5, Barcelona, 2021

The highlight of your visit, very likely, is this–the three-story cloister, measuring 40 meters on each side, with its many delicate columns and arches. Down below is the garden, orange trees, a fountain, the well… and peace. That is Saint Joseph in the small mural bordered by classic Catalan tile work:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #15, Barcelona, 2021

Another view of the cloister with the church bell tower and seagulls above:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #19, Barcelona, 2021

Looking down at one of the two fountains within the cloister. This one is called the “Fountain of the Angel”, for obvious reasons:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #26, Barcelona, 2021

A close up of the little angel that tops the fountain:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #35, Barcelona, 2021

A few feet away from the fountain, this ornate structure tops the well, constructed in the 1770s to supply the Monastery with its H2O needs. If you peer down through the grate you’ll see that it still collects water today:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #32, Barcelona, 2021

Some of the rhymes and patterns you may notice as you stroll about:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #66 Barcelona, 2021

Around the cloister, you will find small pieces of carved stone and other artifacts that have been rescued from earlier excavations and renovations on the site:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #68 Barcelona, 2021

The lion… symbol of Saint Mark possibly, or…? The lion (strength!) is a very old heraldic symbol you will find throughout Europe:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #69 Barcelona, 2021

On old iron gate, likely from the 18th/19th century, or newer:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #73 Barcelona, 2021

Note the wall “clock”… high-tech digital for the year 1778 (while we were in the midst of the Revolution). All you need is a shadow:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #77 Barcelona, 2021

The wonderfully carved wash basins in the small courtyard just off of the kitchen, the laundry area at one time:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #90, Barcelona, 2021

The laundry area was also known as the “the cloister of the cats” and the first mention of it dates back to 1364, with major remodeling done in the 1600s, 1800s, and in recent decades. Cats were apparently allowed to come and go between here and the kitchen–it kept the rodent population down, I would guess. When you pass through, check out the little cat “doors” that are still visible at the base of a couple of the human-sized entrances:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #91, Barcelona, 2021

She died in 1566 at the age of 38. Who was she? And why did she die so young? (Interesting factoid–Nostradamus died the same year.):

Monestir de Pedralbes, #100, Barcelona, 2021

Translation from the Latin/Catalan mix pending (it was a language in transition when this was carved):

Monestir de Pedralbes, #101, Barcelona, 2021

The security guy claimed this mother duck is a regular seasonal visitor here at the Monastery, which explains why she is so very calm around the human giants towering and gawking around her. Why is she a regular, you ask? Well, she returns here to the cloister to lay her eggs off in some secret spot. Pretty good judgment on her part, I’d say… safety, food, water, admiring fans:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #102, Barcelona, 2021

It’s pretty rare to find this space outside the church so empty (the COVID effect). Just out-of-view to the right is the smallish plaza (La Plaça del Monestir) which, on weekends, you’ll normally find filled with parked cars and maybe a tourist bus. Up the stone stairs is the second of the two remaining arch entrances to the Monastery grounds:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #48, Barcelona, 2021

A Few Interiors In Monochrome

Now, to the inside…

Imagine the nuns all dining in this room, the Refectory, with one of the sisters up in the pulpit (left side) reading from the Scriptures as the others ate their simple meals in silence:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #38, Barcelona, 2021

Down in the cool and spacious cellar, the wine and vittles were stored:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #43, Barcelona, 2021

Broom in a box still life. Those, I believe, are termite holes in the wood:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #95, Barcelona, 2021

This obviously no longer resembles a 14th century kitchen. It was renovated in the late 19th century, with at least one 20th century addition (water heater on the wall… and likely the gas stove, too):

Monestir de Pedralbes, #41, Barcelona, 2021

Color Versions For The Monochrome Impaired

Some images just ask to be in color…

Queen Elisenda’s tomb is on the right, and it apparently extends into the church which is on the other side of the wall. In color, you can see the subtle pastels in what is left of the murals:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #10, Barcelona, 2021

The interior of Saint Michael’s Chapel, with paintings by Ferrer Bassa (1343-1346). The room is tiny, maybe 12’x12′ or so, and has been wonderfully restored in recent decades. The website tells us:

“The chapel was conceived as a private place of prayer for the Abbess Francesa ça Portella, though it eventually became the monastery archive. Between 1801 and 1870 it was used as a cloakroom and later converted into an abbey cell. Meanwhile, the murals remained hidden and protected behind the furniture, isolated for centuries from outside light, damp and dust. The chapel paintings were rediscovered in the late 19th century and their true value came to light.”

Monestir de Pedralbes, #103, Barcelona, 2021

I asked at the front desk, but no one could tell me the age of these murals… perhaps 16th or 17th century? In the newer tile work below, you can see the symbol of the crown of Aragon (letter “A”) and the House of Montcada (letter “M”):

Monestir de Pedralbes, #42, Barcelona, 2021

More typical Catalan tile work around the well in the cloister:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #33, Barcelona, 2021

A color view of the Refectory. On the walls are short sayings in Latin to remind the nuns of proper behavior and Christian principles:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #37, Barcelona, 2021

The far wall of the Refectory… the coat of arms is that of the abbess, Sister Maria d’Aragó, and dates back to the early 1500s. The Christ figure is much newer:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #84 Barcelona, 2021

This is how meals were passed from the neighboring kitchen into the Refectory:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #85, Barcelona, 2021

A color view of the kitchen reveals more happy Catalan tile work, a late 19th century addition. The three sinks above the blue tiles, though, date back to about 1520. On the right, the two brown shutters mark the location of the pass-thru to the Refectory:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #40, Barcelona, 2021

More kitchen tiles in the Catalan style:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #86, Barcelona, 2021

A close-up of the three early 16th century sinks:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #87, Barcelona, 2021

This stove dates to the late 19th/early 20th century and still sports the address of the manufacturer: Carrer de Muntaner, 14. The location, not far from where we live, is a wine store today:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #88, Barcelona, 2021

An aerial view of the massive coal-fired stove:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #89, Barcelona, 2021

An aerial view of the well in the cloister, built in 1771:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #20, Barcelona, 2021

Exterior of the “Room of Piety”, for prayer. Around the cloister perimeter, there are many rooms, or “cells”, which face in toward the gardens, this being one restored example:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #13, Barcelona, 2021

Interior, Room of Piety:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #65 Barcelona, 2021

Contemplative view of the cloister, garden, and bell tower:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #29, Barcelona, 2021

Originally, this large space on the north side was used as a dormitory for the nuns. Over the centuries it has undergone several major alterations and renovations. Today, it is a modern museum/exhibition space. On exhibit: art, sculptures, altar pieces, choir song books (in the glass case), and other items, dating from the founding up through the last century:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #53, Barcelona, 2021

A close-up of what looks like an ornate sarcophagus, but was actually used to hold and display the Holy Sacrament. Interestingly, this chest, or altar, was built the same year (1607) as the founding of Jamestown, the first English settlement on the U.S.’s East Coast (Of course, the Spanish were already well-established by then in what would become our American Southwest.) It’s fun to tie together historical dates like that…

Monestir de Pedralbes, #51, Barcelona, 2021

Can you sing? A close-up of one of the enormous and ornate choir books:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #54, Barcelona, 2021

Altarpiece of the Adoration of the Kings, c. 1475-1500, a tryptych by the Della Robbia family in Florence–an Italian Renaissance example. It was created at about the same time that Columbus was fumbling about on the high seas:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #61, Barcelona, 2021

Here, I created a sort of postcard to show detail on a few of the many pieces on exhibit:

Ceiling patterns and coat of arms:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #71 Barcelona, 2021

Another coat of arms:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #78 Barcelona, 2021

On the south side, another exhibit hall shows off furniture of various kinds, murals, and this ceramic tile mosaic (early 1600s) depicting the island of Mallorca:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #80 Barcelona, 2021

There is a short video in the nearby multi-media room that will give you an idea of what life might have been like, back in the day. Here, the English version is coming up in 3 minutes and 42 seconds:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #81 Barcelona, 2021

This is what remains of a 14th century mural painting that was once in the palace of Queen Elisenda. For better conservation, the mural was transferred to fabric and mounted on a wooden frame.

Monestir de Pedralbes, #82 Barcelona, 2021

The laundry room sinks were good B&W subjects, but they also look good in color, bringing out the earthy tones and the slight green oxidation on the copper faucet:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #90, Barcelona, 2021

One smaller exhibit you could easily miss is off in a half-hidden room at the back of the cellar. Here you will find a collection of finely detailed dioramas by contemporary artists. This example is called the “Adoration of the Shepherds” by the Colomer brothers, who (I think) are still actively creating these works:

Monestir de Pedralbes, #98, Barcelona, 2021

One of the last rooms you will visit, assuming you have generally followed the numbers and the arrows around the circuit, is the Abbey. Some of the restored mural work here dates back to the 14th century, near the time of the founding of the Monastery: