Calatrava Castle
The castle is located on the Pui Pinos hill. It is accessed after climbing the steep coastal path and passing through the robust entrance arch, which, following the layout of Islamic fortifications, is arranged perpendicularly to the wall.
This castle-convent began in the Romanesque period, undergoing various extensions and modifications at a later date. Of the oldest remains, from the 12th to the 14th centuries, the Romanesque chapel, the Proto-Gothic cloister and the Gothic keep stand out. The chapel, with a single nave and pointed barrel vault, has one of the few Romanesque doorways in Bajo Aragon district with interesting Jaquesan mosaics. On the Gospel side are the remains of a work of great interest in Aragonese Renaissance funerary sculpture: the tomb of Don Juan de Lanuza.
In several of the rooms, the Gothic mural paintings stand out, dating from the first half of the 14th century, which constitute a regional and local interpretation of the linear or Franco-Gothic style. They have the singularity that, in most of them, their subject matter is civil (such as, for example, the exploits of James I the Conqueror). In the 18th century, a major refurbishment was carried out, giving rise to the palace of the Comendadores, which occupies the southern area and is currently the Parador Nacional.
VISITS: Book at the tourist office (978 83 12 13).
