The Monastery of Santa Maria de Santes Creus, is a former Cistercian monastery in the municipality of Aiguamúrcia, Catalonia, Spain.
The abbey was erected in the 12th century, in today's municipality of Aiguamúrcia, in the village of Santes Creus, in the province of Tarragona (Catalonia). However, it was in the thirteenth century when Peter III of Aragon expressed his desire to be buried in the monastery and a royal crypt was built for himself and his son, King James II that many of the local nobility established the custom to choose this place for burial. This led the monastery to increase in splendor and greatness thanks to the numerous donations received.
View of the monastery.
Aerial view.
Interior of the church.
View of the cloister showing tracery in the Spanish style
Peter III of Aragon was King of Aragon, King of Valencia, and Count of Barcelona from 1276 to his death. At the invitation of some rebels, he conquered the Kingdom of Sicily and became King of Sicily in 1282, pressing the claim of his wife, Constance II of Sicily, uniting the kingdom to the crown.
Detail from the Nuova Cronica
Peter III gives audience to ambassadors of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor and Michael VIII Palaiologos, demanding Peter to intervene in the war against Charles I of Anjou. Nuova Cronica.
Peter III preparing his trip to Sicily. The king receives the visit of two Dominican friars, envoyes of Pope Martin IV trying to convince him not to sail to Sicily. Nuova Cronica.
Peter III's fleet landing at Trapani. The king is depicted directing the landing, next to his wife Constance. Nuova Cronica.
