The Temple Monastery is located in the Plaza del Temple in Valencia. The Church and the Palace of the Temple form a complex made up of the convent, school and church of the Order of Montesa in Valencia.

The monument owes its name to the order of the Knights Templar, to which it belonged. It was built between 1761 and 1770 by order of Carlos III, after an earthquake that destroyed the previous monastery.

The building, designed by the architect Miguel Fernández, presents a neoclassical style strongly influenced by his teacher Francesco Sabatini, the architect of King Carlos III.

The sobriety of the wide façade designed with triangular pediments over the adinteled windows of the main floor stands out. For its part, the interior courtyard is also sober and robust, with stone arcades for the lower part and balconies on the upper floors.

The church is located on the west side of the building. It has a single nave with side chapels and a dome over the transept. The façade is flanked by two towers between which is a large triangular pediment. Welcomed by huge pilasters we find the entrance doors and windows. Above the central entrance is the shield with the royal arms of Carlos III, and below it the semi-spherical hollow that illuminates the interior of the choir. The glazed tile coatings of the towers and dome are of Valencian tradition.

Inside, it is worth mentioning the temple of the main altar, the work of Miguel Fernández and the paintings with perspectives of feigned architecture, by Felipe Fontana.

The temple has nine altars or altarpieces, some of them made of gilded wood.

During the War of Independence this building was looted. It was finally abandoned after the confiscation of Mendizábal in 1835, became the property of the State and was used for mainly administrative functions, as the headquarters of the Delegation of the Government of Valencia.

Declared an Asset of Cultural Interest.



Dades bàsiques

Direcció:

Plaza del Temple, 2
46003 Valencia