The old city of Palma de Mallorca - The Franciscan Monastery

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Introduction

The whole monastic St. Francis includes a basilica and monastery with a cloister, the church and cloister were declared National Cultural Monument in 1981.

Location

The Franciscan Monastery Palma - The Basilica view from the cloister. Click to enlarge the image in Adobe Stock (new tab).

The Franciscan monastery in Palma de Mallorca - Old map of Sainte-Eulalie area. Click to enlarge the image.

From the Plaça de Santa Eulalia, turn right on Carrer del Convent de Sant Francesc. This achieves the Plaça de Sant Francesc.

Visits

The Basilica of St. Francis (Església de Sant Francesc / Iglesia de San Francisco)
Church Basilica of Saint Francis is a large body: it is the largest and one of the most beautiful churches of the Balearic Islands after the Palma Cathedral. The Franciscan monastery was founded in 1278 under the reign of King Jaume II of Majorca. The construction of the monastery, in the Gothic style, began in 1281 and lasted until 1317, that the church began later in the fourteenth century (in 1384). The church was then extended from 1445 until 1670: it has a mixture of Gothic and Renaissance styles. The facade was rebuilt in the late seventeenth century. The convent was under the protection of Jaume II of Majorca, use over by his son Jaume III from 1324. The Basilica of San Francesco (Basilica de Sant Francesc) was the most famous of Palma church during the Middle Ages: in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries the Franciscan community had a great influence on the cultural life in Mallorca. Rich Majorcans of the time vied with one another in order to reserve the biggest tombs for their families. Throughout the centuries have studied people like Brother Junipero Serra (Fra Juníper Serra). In 1832 the monastery passed into the hands of civilians, and had various uses until 1906. In 1906, all returned to the Franciscans, who went to worship and there opened a school and a cultural center.
The statue in front of the church is that of a Franciscan monk Junipero Serra (Fray Junipero Serra), who lived and studied in the monastery. This famous Majorcan missionary, from Petra, was sent on a mission to Mexico in 1768 and later founded the village El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río de Porciúncula, better known under the name of Los Angeles, and sometimes LA, and those of San Francisco and Santa Clara, which is the least you can do for a Franciscan.
The façade of the Basilica of St. Francis
The Gothic facade of the basilica was rebuilt in the seventeenth century in a baroque style after being struck by lightning. The reconstruction began around 1621 and was not completed until about 1700. This is a typical Majorcan facade, smooth and massive sandstone wall. The spectacular baroque portal, decorated with a tympanum is the work of architect and painter Francisco de Herrera the Younger (Francisco de Herrera el Jove), date of 1690. The eardrum consists of a group of sculptures whose central figure is the Immaculate Conception. Above the gate is a delicately carved bas-relief depicting St. George slaying the dragon. The center of the facade is decorated with a huge plateresque rose with all its details sculpted masterpiece of glass Pere Comas. On the front of the church is a circular sundial.


The Nave of the Basilica of Saint Francis
The interior of the Basilica of San Francesco is composed of a vast nave - quite impressive - 74 meters long and 17 meters wide and 25 meters high. The nave is divided into four sections with eight side chapels, chapel each having a different shape.



Mixing styles clear inside the church: the high vaulted ceiling is a classic Catalan Gothic style, while the altar, curvaceous, is a baroque piece-rise, designed by Jean Aragon (Joan Aragó). The choir dates from the fifteenth century.

Choir	Crossroads of Warheads	The Apse
		The apse, polygonal shape, is surrounded by chapels, most recently were added between 1445 and 1670.

The Chapel of Our Lady of Consolation
Behind the altar and the choir, the first chapel on the left of the apse is dedicated to Our Lady of Consolation (Nostra Senyora de la Consolació). The chapel houses - top right - the tomb of the scholar, philosopher and theologian of the thirteenth century Catalan Ramon Llull (Ramon Llull) (circa 1232 - circa 1315). Gothic alabaster tomb is surmounted by a beautiful recumbent statue of Blessed Ramon Llull, based on a fantastic animal frieze support seven Gothic niches. It is a work of Francesc Sagrera conducted in 1480. The Catalan mystic became a hermit after a sentimental failure and was later stoned to death for trying to convert Muslims in Tunisia. Raimundus Lullus, also called "Doctor Illuminatus" anticipated the Renaissance and was, in the thirteenth century, a "Homo Universalis". He was beatified in 1988, you can leave a few coins in the trunk for the campaign for his canonization. Llull is the favorite son of Majorca, you can see his statue on the seafront of Palma.
The Chapel of the Holy Martyrs of Gorcum
To the right of the apse, we find the Chapel of the Holy Martyrs of Gorcum (Capilla de los Santos Martires de Gorcum). In 1572, nineteen Catholics, among them eleven Franciscans were martyred for their faith in the Netherlands in the city of Gorinchem. In this very tarnished representation of the event can be seen these martyrs hanged, disemboweled, cut nose, and more.
The Monastery of St. Francis (Claustre de Sant Francesc / Convento de San Francisco)
The medieval cloister of the Franciscan monastery offers a magnificent example of Gothic architecture. Leaning against the eastern side of the basilica, the monastery is trapezoidal two-thirds. Its four galleries, a rare elegance, are organized harmoniously around the sunny central courtyard and its wells. The construction of the monastery began in 1286, but construction galleries continued for the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The upper galleries dating from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The timing of each style is clearly visible: the elegant columns of different styles show it took some time to complete the construction. The north gallery, diagonally opposite the entrance, is the oldest and simplest, the west gallery, backed by the church and the south gallery are of more recent construction (fifteenth century), with the finest and columns more complex. With the exception of a picture gallery with trefoil, trefoil arches are carefully and based on bundles of thin columns of varying thickness, the total number of 115.

The monastery is currently used as a Catholic school where Franciscan monks are responsible for education.

The north gallery of the cloister is the oldest.

Gallery.

The south gallery was not completed before the fifteenth century.

The west gallery adjoining the basilica is also of more recent construction (fifteenth century).

The patio features a Gothic cloister garden with orange, lemon and palm trees. In the middle of the court is still the remains of an old well.