Alcántara - Convento de San Benito

Alcántara is a small Spanish town (pop 1500) that got its name from the Arabs for the nearby Roman bridge (see previous uploads). In 1213 the area was reconquered by the troops of Alfonso IX. A few years later the place came under the command of the Alcántara Knights.

In 1488, the order's council decided to build a new monastery. Construction began in 1505 and lasted for most of the 16th century.

In 1706, it was sacked during the War of Spanish Succession, and it was damaged by the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. After the Spanish confiscation in 1835, it was abandoned and began to fall into ruin. 1961 it was acquired by Hidroeléctrica Española, which restored it and occupied the structure until 1966. In 1985 it went to the "Fundación San Benito de Alcántara".

The Gothic vaults of the convent´s church