Charterhouse of Aula Dei

The architecture of the enclosed monastery was designed by Martín de Miteza to house thirty-six monks, a complement three times larger than the usual Carthusian community.

The monastery was re-purchased in 1901 by the Carthusians for the exiled French communities of Valbonne and Vauclaire Charterhouses, who arrived in that year in Spain and occupied Aula Dei in 1902.

The major interior decoration consists of a cycle of 11 large frescoes round the monastic church on the Life of the Virgin painted between 1772 and 1774 by Francisco Goya.

Because of the building's history of limited access, the frescoes remain largely unstudied, despite being perhaps Goya's most impressive early work.

[1] The Carthusian monks left the monastery in August 2012, but asked the Chemin Neuf Community to come and continue their mission of praying and welcoming the visitors.