Restoration of the monastery of Santa María la Real in Aguilar de Campoo

Aguilar de Campoo, Palencia, Castilla y León.

Dating of the building: 1170.

Applicant: Association of Friends of the Monastery of Santa María la Real.

Reason for the award :

For the extensive restoration and rehabilitation of this monastery, converted into an education centre and school-workshop by the Association of Friends of the Monastery.

At the end of the 70s, a non-profit association, the Friends of the Monastery of Santa María la Real, rescued the old monastery from abandon and ruin providing it with spaces for training young people and educators.

Aguilar de Campoo is not only the most industrialized town in the province of Palencia but also  abundant in monuments. The monastery of Santa María la Real, founded in the 9th century continuously expanded until the 18th century. Its Romanesque capitals which are exhibited in the National Archaeological Museum are proof of its archaic relevance. Mendizábal’s confiscation law began its ruin and abandon, similar to many other religious buildings in our country.

It was at the end of the seventies when the Association of Friends of the Monastery of Santa María la Real, chaired by José María Pérez González, Peridis, undertook the honorable task of restoring and rehabilitating the monastery. Since then, the old monastic halls served as classrooms for the local high school, a youth training centre and the headquarters of the Menéndez Pelayo University summer courses, before becoming a hostel, a museum and centre for Romanesque studies.

Others awards in Castilla y León: