The Royal Colleges and the permanent exhibition about the City and the Renaissance Festival

Royal Colleges has been chosen by popular vote as one of the 7 Treasures of the Cultural Heritage of Tortosa, in the context of the celebration Tortosa Capital of Catalan Culture in 2021.

In the sixteenth century, Tortosa was one of the most important cities in Catalonia. The city experienced a moment of economic and social splendor, where culture and humanism played a very important role. Royal Colleges, the direct legacy of this period and built with the aim of educating the Moorish, constitute the most important work of the civil renaissance in Catalonia.

The ensemble is made up of three buildingf that retain their extraordinary renaissance doors. The visit to Royal Colleges includes the access to the school of Sant Jaume and Sant Maties and to the church of Sant Domènec, which today homes the permanent exhibition about the city and the Renaissance Festival.

The College of Sant Jaume and Sant Maties preserves a monumental square patio of Italian influence. This courtyyard is the only one with this style in Catalonia and surely, the best work of the Renaissance in the Principality. Its iconographic importance is unquestionable, highlighting the sculpted decorative frieze containing the effigies and shields of the Kings and Queens of the Crown of Aragon

The church of Sant Domènec, meanwhile, follows a gothic trace of a single nave, and it was, for decades, the headquarters of the Old Museum- archieve of Tortosa. Today, it homes the permanent exhibition about the city and the Renaissance Festival where it can be admired the old Town hall’s portal and the splandid Archive file cabinet of 1574. The exhibition takes a tour of the sixteenth century city linking it to the current Renaissance festival, which is celebrated annually to recreate the splendor of the Renaissance in Tortosa and that already has twenty -five years of history.

The College of Sant Jordi  and Sant Domènec, former University of the city and convent, only retains the outer portal. It can be distinguished the shield of Philip II and the inscription DOMUS SAPIENTAE, that is, House of wisdom.

 

Admission prices

General: 3 €.

Concession*: 2€

Concessions: Over 65, single parent families, families with 3 o more children, people with disabilities, students, Sefarad Card holders, Privilegium Card holders issued at Morella or Alcañiz,

adult group** rate: 2€

**Group (15-49 people).

Concession: 1€

Group*** of 50 or more.

adult group*** rate: 1€.

Tortosa Card holders, children under 14, tourist guides, teachers, ICOM members and Club Super 3 members free****.

****documentation concerning the free admission must be current and shown.

Free last Sunday of the month.