The Spanish Monastery

by Joshua Trattler

This strange space is actually a hole in the top of a marble table called the French Altar. Believe-it-or-not, this hole held artifacts from saints, such as teeth, pieces of robes, and jewelry.

The monastery was constructed using many large stones. The mason (or carver) of each stone left his own personal mark on the stones he carved, as if it were his signature. Symbols like arrows and stars were used to identify each mason.

The Spanish Monastery

Welcome to the Ancient Spanish Monastery. The monastery was built in 1141 in Sacramenia, Spain and was rebuilt in Miami in 1952.

In the chapel, there are two interesting stained-glass windows called telescopic windows. These windows are special because they are two of only three windows of their kind from the medieval period in existence today.

Here is a life-size statue of King Alphonso VII, the man who started the construction of the monastery as a celebration of winning a battle. What’s interesting about King Alphonso is that he was considered a tall man for his time. He was only 5 feet 4 inches tall!