Parador de Almagro

The Convent of Santa Catalina de Siena was founded on April 3, 1596 by Don Jerónimo de Ávila y de la Cueva in memory of his wife Doña Catalina de Sanabria, who died childless after only 5 years of marriage. It was inaugurated in 1612 after more than a decade of construction. For more than three centuries the Franciscans lived there until the disentailment of the Liberal Triennium forced its closure. The order returned in 1877 but abandoned it definitively in 1942. In 1969 it was ceded to the State and the Parador was inaugurated by Queen Sofia on September 26, 1979. The Classical Theater Festival began in 1978, a year earlier.

The convent, attributed to Nicolás Vergara el Mozo, is a clear example of Renaissance convent architecture of the Toledo School. It was built in brick, mud, stone and wood with Mudejar tiling. The original cloister, the galleries with semicircular arches, the blue beams that run along the ceilings, the Mudejar tiles and the plateresque details make it an exceptional space. It underwent extensions in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Latin cross church with a barrel nave bears the coats of arms of the founders. The Refectory conserves coffered ceiling of the XVI century and in a dining room the coffered ceiling of the Aula Magna of the disentailed University was relocated.

Almagro is the city of the corral theater, with the only intact 17th century Corral de Comedias in the world, a National Monument since 1955. The Plaza Mayor with its arcades of volcanic stone is one of the most beautiful in Spain. The Campo de Calatrava offers the La Mancha landscape with windmills and vineyards. Ciudad Real is nearby. The Ruta del Quixote crosses the region.