Ah, Miami, the ideal spot to soak up the sun, chill on the beach, and…visit a medieval cloister? Yes, that’s right, there’s an Ancient Spanish Monastery smack dab in the middle of North Miami Beach, and it’s open to the public. If you can tear yourself away from the sand and surf of South Beach, this historic gem is definitely worth a visit. Let’s get medieval!
History of the Ancient Spanish Monastery
Miami’s medieval cloister was once part of the Monastery of St. Bernard de Clairvaux in Sacramenia, Spain. Sacramenia is in the province of Segovia, in the autonomous community of Castile and León in northern Spain.
King Alphonso VII built the monastery between 1133 and 1141 CE, in the Romanesque style. He dedicated it to the Virgin Mary in thanks for victory over the Moors. As a result, the building was originally named “The Monastery of Our Lady, Queen of Angels.” But in 1174, the Pope canonized the famous monk Bernard of Clairvaux, prompting a renaming in his honor.
For over 700 years, French Cistercian monks made the monastery their home. But everything went to shit in the 1830s, when social revolution sparked serious anticlericalism. The monastery was subsequently seized and sold. The cloister went from being a religious space of contemplation and study to a granary and stable.
Dismantling the Cloister
Fast forward to 1925, when William Randolph Hearst purchased the monastery’s cloister, refectory (dining hall), and chapter house. Hearst dismantled the buildings stone by stone into 35,000 pieces, weighing 2,500 tons.1 The stones were bound in protective hay and packed into 11,000 wooden crates. Hearst had each crate numbered for identification and shipped to the United States. The monastery church—which Hearst did not buy—remained in Sacramenia.
Shit hit the fan once the crates arrived on US soil. Segovia was experiencing an outbreak of hoof-and-mouth disease, affecting cloven-hoofed animals. The US Department of Agriculture quarantined the crates because it feared the hay protecting the stones would spread the disease. They burned the hay but didn’t put the stones back in their original numbered boxes before moving them to a warehouse.
While all this was going on, Hearst was in deep doo-doo himself. He was having financial problems and eventually had to sell most of his art and artifact collection at auction. The cloister’s stones, however, remained in storage in the Bronx for 26 years.
Reassembling the Stones
William Edgemon and Raymond Moss purchased the stones in 1952, a year after Hearst’s death. They reassembled the cloister, refectory, and chapter house as a tourist attraction. The job took 19 months and almost 1.5 million dollars (18 mil today!). The master mason responsible for the reassembly called it “the greatest jigsaw puzzle in history.”2
In 1964, Edgemon and Moss put the site up for sale due to financial difficulties. Philanthropist Col. Robert Pentland, Jr., bought the buildings for the Episcopal Diocese. Today, the Ancient Spanish Monastery belongs to the Church of St. Bernard de Clairvaux, an active Episcopal congregation.
Tour the Ancient Spanish Monastery
The Ancient Spanish Monastery consists of a small museum, gardens, and a cloister with an adjoining chapter house and refectory that now serves as a chapel.
The Museum
Visitors enter the site through the small museum containing European artifacts across various time periods. You’ll see a Prussian suit of armor from the late 1600s in the style of the Knights Templar, medieval helmets, and 16th-17th century Spanish strongboxes used to store valuables. Other objects of note include an early 17th-century Spanish hearse, cabinets with paintings by a disciple of Italian artist Raphael, and Pope Urban VII’s clothing cabinet.
Finally, there’s a hymnarium (collection of hymns) over 800 years old. This illuminated manuscript is made of lambskin parchment, and while it doesn’t have miniature paintings, it does have decorated letters.
The Gardens
The Ancient Spanish Monastery has over 20 acres of gardens with palm trees, Spanish oaks, banyans, and flowering trees. To enter the gardens, pass through the Iron Gate that was once the entrance of a Spanish nobleman’s casa. This hand-wrought gate weighs over 2,000 pounds.
As you meander through the gardens, check out the medieval ram’s head pillar and baptismal font. You’ll also come across tall statues donated to the church in the 1970s.
The Cloister
A cloister is a square covered walkway enclosing a courtyard. Cloisters were a central part of monastery complexes, because they connected to other buildings like the main church, refectory, and chapter house. In addition to being functional, monks used this space for contemplation, study, and exercise. For more, see the post WTF is a Cloister?
As you enter the Ancient Spanish Monastery’s cloister, be sure to check out the bas-relief of the Virgin Mary crowned by angels. She’s on top of a castle flanked by lions representing the Spanish provinces of Castile and León.
The Ancient Spanish Monastery names each of the four covered walkways according to the cardinal points (south, north, east, and west). In the South Cloister, you’ll see the coat of arms of St. Bernard de Clairvaux and King Alphonso VII.
The North Cloister contains a life-sized statue of King Alphonso VII, who started construction on the monastery. In the East Cloister, you’ll see a life-sized statue of young Alphonso VIII, who was the reigning monarch when construction was completed.
Walls and Sealed Doorways
Sealed doors appear throughout the cloister. These doors are visual reminders that the cloister once connected to other buildings in the monastic complex. One doorway led to the dormitory, where monks slept on straw mattresses. Another led to the kitchen.
There’s also a sealed door behind the statue of Alphonso VIII, once leading to the stables and fields. Finally, the doorway behind the statue of Alphonso VII in the North Cloister led to the original church. The monastery church actually shared a wall with the North Cloister. Since the church is still in Spain, the wall in Miami is not original medieval stone, but is Florida oolitic limestone.
The Refectory/Chapel
Along the South Cloister, you’ll find the entrance to the Chapel. Back in the days of yore, this room was the refectory, or dining hall. The small iron bell outside the entrance called the monks to their meals. Once inside, take a look at the soot on the window closest to the altar. That’s some old-ass soot, from the cooking fires of the monastery’s original kitchen.
The Chapel—which the Episcopal congregation actively uses today—contains some cool artwork. Take a look at the east (left) wall for a mid-17th century bas-relief of the “Visit of the Magi” in white Italian marble. Additionally, two 12th-century stained glass windows sit above the altar. They’re two of three medieval telescopic windows in existence.
The Chapter House
Along the East Cloister is the entrance to the chapter house, which was where monks meet to discuss daily business and read from their guide for monastic life (the Rule). The ribbed vault ceiling also provided great acoustics for some good old monk chanting and singing. Be sure to check out the Christ the King Statue, likely carved by an early monk.
The French Altar
Go through the iron gates to see the French altar, which stands on three legs. Relics of saints once rested on the top of the altar.
Visiting the Ancient Spanish Monastery
The Ancient Spanish Monastery is open to the public, but its dates and hours vary. It’s always closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, but due to church activities, private events, and the active congregation, it’s often closed on the other days of the week and the weekend.
Their website has a monthly schedule that you can refer to when planning your visit.
If you happen to visit at noon, you can hop on a tour. Otherwise, it’s self-guided, and you can pick up a free pamphlet guide when you purchase your ticket.
The ticket costs $10 for adults, and $5 for children and youth (ages 5-18), seniors (age 62+), and students (with a valid ID). Admission is free for military (with ID) and children under 5 years old.
I recommend driving or taking a cab to the Ancient Spanish Monastery, especially if you’re staying in South Beach.
Footnotes
Bibliography & Further Reading
“Jigsaw Puzzle.” TIME Magazine 63, no. 2 (1954): 54. EBSCOhost.
Leave a Reply