Santa Clara Museum, Inside the Enclosure

What it is

The monastery of Santa María del Valle, the convent of Santa Clara in Zafra, was approved by a papal bull in 1428 and founded in 1430 at the wish of Gomes I Suárez de Figueroa, first Lord of Feria, who wanted to give room to the vocation of two of his daughters and create a pantheon for his lineage. It was settled by Poor Clares from Tordesillas and is still lived in by the community. The museum, which is public, opens up part of the enclosure and tells three stories at once: that of the convent, that of the nobility that sponsored it and that of the town.

What you see on the visit

The tour begins as you cross a grille that warns you that you are entering the enclosure. The first part, Intramuros, shows the convent as a place of daily life and prayer, making use of the cloister, the tiered seating and a cell: how nuns took their vows, how the house was organised, which feasts marked the year. In the lower Columns room of the new infirmary, from the late 16th century, La piedad nobiliaria explains the foundation and the link with the House of Feria, its pantheon and its collection of relics. La urbe ducal steps out into the town: how the Suárez de Figueroa, lords, counts and, from 1567, dukes, wanted to make Zafra a town to their own measure.

It ends in the church, El legado de la magnificencia. Its high altarpiece was contracted in 1670 with Alonso Rodríguez Lucas, and in the main niche is the alabaster Virgen del Valle, from the first half of the 15th century, between Saint Francis and Saint Clare. In the nave there are four matching altarpieces by José Ramos de Castro, from 1761 to 1763, and at the foot the altarpiece of San Diego de Alcalá, by Juan de Vargas, from around 1676. Here too are the recumbent sculptures of the first counts, the nuns' choir behind its double grille, the ducal chapel and the reliquary.

Each month the museum brings out a piece of the month from its collection, and it organises exhibitions and the Jornadas de Historia de Zafra y el Estado de Feria (history days).

Opening hours and price

From 16 September to 30 June, Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 14:00 and from 17:00 to 19:00, and Sunday from 10:00 to 14:00. It is closed on Mondays. In 2026 it also closes on 1 and 6 January, 12 April, 15 May, 6 October and 24, 25 and 31 December; from 2 to 4 April and from 1 to 4 October it closes in the afternoon. The hours from 1 July to 15 September do not appear on its website: call first. Admission is free; guided visits are requested at reception, on 924 551 487 or 696 427 807.

Getting there

It is at Calle Sevilla 30, in the pedestrian zone. Park in the Plaza de España, the Plaza de los Escudos or the Ferial car park and walk in. It has ramps and a lift. It is a stop on the Zafra Única route, between the alcázar and the Plaza Grande.