Convento de Santo Domingo

The old Santo Domingo Convent in Palma del Río is located on Calle Feria at the corner with Calle Santo Domingo where a Dominican convent was first founded in 1400. According to Brother Ambrosio de Torres, they were expelled from the village as "…many inhabitants of the town called for their expulsion." Two further foundations were issued, with the Bull of Pope Alexander VI in 1501 the definitive Bull consolidating the Dominicans in Palma until their exit due to the confiscations of the 19th century.

Today, the convent is a school run by the Third Order of Saint Francis, who maintain the cloisters and use them for teaching, while the church is kept for worship, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception. This is a 16th century church with a classic entrance of semi-circular arches between Ionic columns made from sculpted brick, at the top of which is an original belfry in two sections and a single arch on each part, richly adorned with multi-coloured tiles. The belfry slopes somewhat due to the effects of the Lisbon Earthquake. Inside the church you will find the greatly refurbished chapel of the Virgen del Rosario, which dates back to the 18th century and which is enclosed with a wrought iron fence. The Baroque nave has a Rococo altarpiece with a statue of the Virgen del Rosario at the centre.

Other details of the church include the Mudéjar coffering of the altar, canvasses such as "La institución del Rosario", the grille of the sacristy and the access point to the patio where you can see the original and only gallery of the cloister, which has semi-circular arches made from brick and white marble columns on pilaster. From the old cloister you can reach the new patios where part of the wall can be viewed, since the convent is attached to it.