The Franciscan convent originated at the beginning of the 13th century, probably between 1216 and 1226, coinciding with the passage of St. Francis of Assisi through the region during his pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. According to the Chronicle of the Seraphic Province of Santiago, the saint indicated the place destined by divine providence for the construction of the convent in a place near the Duero known as Raviche, where there was an ancient hermitage (Vecilla, 1995). Thanks to the donations and patronage of some Zamora nobles, such as Gallinato and Leonor Muñiz, a church and cloister were built (Vecilla, 1995). The temple became a pantheon full of tombs of illustrious personages and in the 16th century funeral chapels were added, such as that of Dean Diego Vázquez de Cepeda, begun in 1523 by Juan Gil de Hontañón and continued by his son Rodrigo (Martí y Monsó, 1907).
Throughout its history the convent suffered multiple vicissitudes, being the fires of the 18th century and the War of Independence responsible for its destruction. Likewise, the disentailment of Mendizábal (1835) caused the definitive exclaustration of the Franciscans and the dispersion of their artistic patrimony (Vecilla, 1995).
Bibliography
MARTÍ Y MONSÓ, José (1907): "La capilla del deán D. Diego Vázquez de Cepeda en el monasterio de San Francisco de Zamora", nº 3, Boletín de la Sociedad Castellana de Excursiones.
VECILLA, Jesús (1995): "El Convento de San Francisco de Zamora", Instituto de Estudios Zamoranos "Florián de Ocampo", pp. 579-793.
Read more
1 result
It hosted this work in the past [ca. 1522 - ca. 1835]