Monasterio San Jerónimo de Cotalba

It is one of the most remarkable monastic constructions in our territory, a fact that is accentuated by the stylistic diversity of its complex, which, starting from a primitive Gothic medieval structure, is mainly developed from the 16th to the 18th century.

We could emphasize inside the building four constructive groups with homogeneous characteristics: the tribute tower or the bells tower, the church, the cloister with its two floors and the monastery dependencies.

The tribute tower or the tower of the bells are the centre of attention of the building that sticks out by its volume and height. It is a tower made of rubble in rows and ends at the top with the typical battlements of the medieval fortifications. At the tower base is the tombstone commemorating the foundation of the monastery: “Lo molt alt Senyor Don Alphons, fill de l’infant En Pere, duch de Gandía, marqués de Villena, comte del Ribagorca e de Dénia, fundá aquest monestir a honor de Déu e de Sant Jeroni, l’any Mil CCCLXXXVIII”.

The church is a unique space with a basilical plant without transept within the traditional typology and characteristic of the Valencian-Catalan gothic. It is arranged in four sections covered by groin vaults. It has a rectangular presbytery with baroque. The lateral chapels are located between the inner buttresses where we can find burials in some of them. The facade, very deteriorated, is very simple and it follows the typical scheme of ogival structure. The current Verge de la Salud chapel was the old Sala Capitular of the monastery. Attached to its walls is the sarcophagus in carved stone of Duke Alfons el Vell’s children: Joan and Blanca. This is an example of the Valencian gothic funeral sculpture. The altar seems to be a more modern construction.

The cloister consists of two superposed plants, one of the most beautiful parts of the entire monastery. The lower part is considered one of the clearest examples of the Mudejar gothic of the country and it is a polychromed space open with ribs. At the nearest angle to the church we find an almost flamboyant helical staircase. The upper part of the cloister has elements that place it in the 16th century: the roof with medieval ribs is opposed to the lowered arches of the exterior.

The interior of the monastery sometimes presents intricate and tortuous paths and has varied monacal dependences. The monastic residence is composed of thirty-six cells, among them the prevailing cell where King Philip II (1586) resided.

The gothic invoice aqueduct, the gardens and spaces next to the monastery are also interesting, which make up environments of great landscape interest. (Source: Architectural and Environmental Heritage Service)

Primitive usee: : Religious.